


Trust

by Underthegallowws



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Cheerleaders, Dangerous sport, M/M, Minor Vernon Boyd/Erica Reyes, Pain, Serious Injuries, Slurs, This is what happens when I watch Netflix
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:28:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 29,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26642995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Underthegallowws/pseuds/Underthegallowws
Summary: When Theo transfers to the Wolfsbane squad, Liam second year as a college cheerleader takes an unexpected turn.Or : There is tumbling, stunts, and pyramids, a guy who needs some confidence, another one who needs absolution. Also Stiles love yelling at people, and Lydia is incredible.
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Comments: 9
Kudos: 29





	1. The one with tumbling, tossing and late-night training

**Author's Note:**

> All of this happened because I watched the TV-show "Cheer" on Netflix, which I strongly encourage to do too. Almost all of the story is written already, but I'll post it in chapters as I suck at editing.  
> Nothing would have happened without the amazing yelling of Manon, obviously, but also the constant encouragement of Team Theo (they know who they are).
> 
> Don't be upset if you don't understand all the vocabulary in the beginning. Very soon, you will be thinking about tumbling, making mat and unassisted stunts like you were a cheerleader.

“Lydia ! Wake up ! Kira, do you even know what the fuck you are doing here ? Malia… I don’t even have a word for you. Liam ! You’re up now. “

Peter’s voice was penetrating, and Liam almost tripped as he took his place on the side of the mat. He jumped a few times, and tried to warm up his body.

“What the heck are you waiting for ? Liam ! If I wanted a Sleeping Beauty, I would have asked Stiles to take the lead !”

Liam winced, before stretching out his arms, and taking a breath. And then, he started running, sending his body in the air, and hitting the mat with his hands. One, two, three tumbles, before he landed on his feet. It was painful, but as always, he smiled.

A tumbler. That’s what he mainly was. That’s why he had been chosen by Peter to be part of the Wolfsbane Team, the - at that time - reigning champion of college cheerleading. When he had received the formal invitation, both his parents had cried. It had been the best moment of his life.

And now, a little more than a year after, he was kind of rethinking his whole life choices. He loved Wolfsbane, and he loved cheering. It was hard, and intense, and more gymnastic and strength than dance. It was a brutal sport, honestly, and it was rare that one of their training went without an injury, or someone crying. Well, the crying was mostly Peter’s fault, but the guy had helped the team win seven championships in eight years, so nobody would think about saying anything to him.

“Poor execution Liam. Did you learn anything at all last year ?” Peter smirked, from the chair where he was sitting with his iPad, recording every single of their moves.

And yes, Liam had learnt from the year before. He had arrived, fresh-faced, and sure of his potential, only to be met with the most talented people he had ever seen in his life. He was able to do three back handsprings and land them ? Well, there were four guys who were able to do it 

He had spent the year training, and practicing, but at the end of the year, only twenty of the forty people in the team made the mat.

Making the mat meant being part of the ensemble that performed at Daytona, the National College Cheerleading Championship. As the Wolfsbane were part of a small college that only offered two-years courses, Liam knew that this year was his only chance to make it, and to finally reach his dream. 

“Sorry, Peter. I can go again.” He fake smiled, while rolling his right ankle. Silly ankle. Always playing out.

“You bet your ass you can go again. Run to the side and show me what you’re made of.”

Liam nodded curtly, and did exactly as he was told, while Peter went on looking at someone else. “Kira, point your fucking toes or I swear I’m going to point them for you and you are not gonna like it ! Guys, I don’t know what kind of personal crisis you all seem to have today but could you at least pretend you want to make the mat this year ? Ah, thank you Theo, that was a nice one. See, someone here is trying. Liam ! I swear to god…”

He sighed, before faking another smile, and running down the mat. Jump, propulsion, the toes, so many things happened in his mind every single time he went for a tumble. But the most important thing, the one that made him go again and again, was the adrenaline. He landed perfectly, and waited for Peter to make a call.

“That looked almost good enough for high-school. Go train on the side, I can’t stand to see your face right now.”

Well, this year was not really starting well. But Liam knew better than to engage into a conversation with Peter when they were training. He was well-known for being the hardest trainer in the circuit, but also the best. 

“Toes, toes, toes ! Girls ! I am planning a pyramide, and all I can see are your toes flailing like poor old things.”

Liam looked at the side, where the three main flyers of the team, Lydia, Allison and Kira, were working on their handsprings. To him, everything looked pretty perfect. The three girls were at the top of their game, and they didn’t even flinch at Peter’s voice. 

“Careful !”

Liam felt a hand on his arm, and someone pulled him from the mat, just one second before Theo Raeken went flying next to him. 

Fucking Theo Raeken. He hadn’t been there, the year before. Actually, he had been part of their main competitors, the Silvercrosses, and had done so brilliantly at the Championship that his team had won, for the first time in… Well, eight years. Not that Theo was responsible for the win, Liam thought. He was just good enough to be part of the reigning champions, and to choose to leave his school, leave his friends, to come train with the Wolfsbane. 

He had arrived on the first day of training, like all of this was normal, and it was not, as cheerleading was not a sport where you usually chose to change team after a year. But Peter had just been happy to get one of the best tumblers of his age, and the guy was also a solid base, which they were lacking. 

Theo hadn’t tried to make friends with anyone. He kept to himself, but fucking delivered every single time Peter called him on the mat. He looked like the picture perfect cheerleader, and Liam hated him for it. He knew he wasn’t the only one, because the person who had probably saved him from a concussion was Stiles, and him and Theo apparently had beef. They had trained together in high school, and whatever happened wasn’t good, because Stiles spent most of his time telling anyone that would listen that Theo should never be trusted.

“Thanks man.” Liam said to him with a smile, before looking at Theo, who had just landed a double spin. “This guy doesn’t care for shit.”

“Told you so.” Stiles said, before turning to the girls. “Yes, rock it ! Rock it Kira ! You got this !”

Stiles wasn’t even that good of a cheerleader. The main reason he was in the team was his “mat talk”, which meant he spent most of his time yelling encouragement, and he was so original with his analogies that he had found a small place in Peter’s heart. An achievement really. 

“Good one Theo. Can you work with Malia a bit ?” Peter said, as people were jumping around and landing everywhere.

“Sure thing.”

Liam’s eyes went to Malia, the only girl in a team that wasn’t a flyer. As they had only twenty places for performances, all girls were usually flyers, but Malia was the best girl tumbler in all the United States, and apparently, Peter found that more entertaining than another doll being thrown around. 

“Liam ! Go train with Theo and Malia. Maybe you will finally learn something.”

“Yes, Coach !” He answered, leaving Stiles with an apologetic smile. He jogged towards the two other athletes, and smiled at the girl.

“Hey.”

She only raised an eyebrow, looked at him, and then at Theo, before she started running on the mat, and hitting every single one of her moves. 

“There is no way that girl is human.” Liam whispered, always amazed by the fact that she could do things he would never dream of.

Theo quickly glanced at him, a haughty smile on the lips.

“Want to see something out of this world ?”

He didn’t leave time for Liam to answer, and followed Malia’s moves, adding a spin, and a perfect two feet landing. Then, he turned from the other side at the mat, looked at Liam, and shrugged, like what he just did wasn’t absolutely insane. 

Liam seriously hated the guy.

* * *

“Okay, guys, that’s enough. Can everyone come here ?”

The forty people composing the team stopped what they were doing, to come around Peter. Even if most of the boys were his size, and way buffier than him, there was no doubt about who was the commanding officer.

“I need to see some baskets tosses. We’ll start simple. I just want to see which one of you has a brain big enough to understand the simple mechanics of gravity. Now, I want every single one of you to look at these girls.” He pointed towards the flyers, who were stretching by his side. “Look at these girls. I need these girls. You need them. I don’t care what you have to do, I don’t care if you have to break every single one of your bones, but I will not tolerate any of these girls falling on the ground. Your job is to keep them safe. Do you understand ?”

Liam nodded along the rest of the team. He remembered quite clearly the year before, and how many falls some of the girls had taken. As always, with cheerleading, there was a risk, but the risk was even bigger when someone was thrown three meters from the ground and dived head first on the mat.

“So, we will have tossers, and spotters. If you are a tosser, I want you to take into account the weight and the physique of the girl you are going to work with. If you are a spotter…” He looked at them, his eyes squinting. “I want you to get them safely on the ground every single time, whatever happens. Is that too much to ask ?”

“No, Coach.” The group answered.

“Good. Break.” They all clapped twice, and Peter started shouting his orders. The year before, Liam had been on the side for most of the tossing exercises, as Peter didn’t even plan to put him on the mat. But this year, with the old performers leaving, he was actually one of those with the most experience. Peter looked at him for a second, before sighing. “Liam, you are going to spot for Lydia, with Boyd.” 

Liam tried to refrain his enthusiasm, and he nodded to Boyd, who was a little taller than him, didn't speak much, but was one of their best bases. He jogged towards the small group around Lydia, only to see that Theo was part of their training circle. 

“So, what’s your weight ?” Theo was already asking the beautiful red haired girl. She looked at him, speechless.

“What ?”

“Your weight. If I have to toss you around, I’d rather know how much strength I’m supposed to use.”

“That’s…”

Theo sighed, and without asking, grabbed the girl, and carried her in his arms for a few steps. Lydia, always a perfect professional, didn’t even try to fight him, even though if looks could kill, Theo would currently be dead on the floor. He let her go with care, and smiled at Jackson, who was the other tosser. 

“Okay. I think I got it.”

“That’s really rude.” Liam commented, crossing his arms. Theo looked at him, before smiling.

“Yeah, I know. I would apologize, if I wasn’t just trying to do my job.”

“You don’t have to…”

“Can you guys calm down, please ?” Lydia interrupted. She looked at the four boys. “If I have to trust you on this, I would rather know that you are not going to start bickering once I’m up there.”

“You got it.” Jackson said, as he positioned himself. “Liam, can you take the front ? Boyd will be behind.”

Jackson knew what he was doing, and more importantly, he was used to working with Lydia, so Liam didn’t even question his orders. He walked in front of Lydia, and she looked at him, trying to size him up.

“You sure you can take me if I fall on your face ?”

“I’ve got you.” He answered, trying to sound confident. He didn’t know if he had been convincing, but the girld turned to her tossers. “Let’s just start with a simple basket, shall we ?”

“Yes, queen.” Jackson answered, a smirk on his face. The nickname had been earnt by Lydia the year before, as she always seemed in control, and didn’t take shit from anyone. Theo smiled at her, and put his hands on his waist, mimicking Jackson’s position. 

“I’m counting.” Lydia announced, and none of the boys, who were twice her size, tried to fight her on it. “Get me up on eight, back on four, and toss at six. It's a simple, it shouldn’t take more than two for me to get back.”

They all prepared, breathing in, and out. Lydia clapped twice, and started her count. Theo and Jackson got her in the air easily, and she jumped from there, to land perfectly still in their arms. Liam exhaled. Okay, he could do that. As long as the tossers were good, he probably wouldn’t have to save her. 

“We good ?” She asked her partners.

“Yep. Let’s do another so I can really get your groove.” Theo answered.

She nodded, clapped, and went through the small stunt again. It was the most basic of the backet tosses, but they needed to grow their confidence, and it didn’t hurt as Theo and Jackson were not used to working together. 

“And break.” She said, as they clapped around her. “Okay, I think we are good. Can we try a twist ?”

Jackson looked at Theo, and then answered positively. Liam saw Boyd taking a step back, and he did the same. As she would be in the air longer, there was always a chance she would land somewhere farther from her tossers. She gave her orders, and her counts, and Liam looked quickly at Theo, whose face was now focused. His hands on Lydia didn’t shake, and he anticipated every single one of her moves. The toss went perfectly well, and once again, Boyd and him weren’t needed. 

“Break. Good one. You’re not bad”, Lydia said, now sizing up Theo, who seemed to preen at the compliment. “Let’s do a toe touch.”

Liam’s eyes stayed on her, as she was sent into the air, again and again. She seemed to land flawlessly, even though he could hear the noise her body made against her tossers’ arms. 

“Great. Maybe this could go somewhere.”

“Did I see a spin and toe touch ?” Peter asked, appearing from nowhere. 

Lydia frowned. “No ?”

“Well, I should be seing one. Go.”

She smiled, and looked at Theo, and Jackson. “Eight, Four, Six, give me some room, and I should be back on Two.”

“At least, the girl is smart.” Peter commented, crossing his arms. “Go, now.”

They clapped twice, and took their position. As Lydia started counting, Liam tried to focus on her. She was smiling, like it was the best moment of her life, and he knew perfectly well it was all staged to make people think what she did was easy. He stretched his arms, ready to spot her, as the boys sent her in the air. She spinned a little hard, but did her toe touch, and both Jackson and Theo moved on the side to welcome her body in their arms. 

She touched the ground smiling. “Break.”

“Not half-bad.” Peter said, slowly. He looked at Liam again, and the boy wondered what was going on in his mind.

“I am thinking...” He grabbed Jackson, and put him on the side. Then, he pointed at Lydia’s right side. “There, you try it Liam.”

“I’m not…” He reacted, suddenly feeling really warm.

“I don’t care. You want to be on the mat ? Tumbling is not enough. I have enough tumblers. I need tossers, and I need people I can trust. Can I trust you ?”

He nodded, swallowing.

“I didn’t hear you, Liam”, Peter said, slowly.

“Yes Coach. You can trust me.”

He walked to position himself next to Lydia. It was not his first time doing tosses, but he wasn’t really trained for them, not like Theo, or even worse, Jackson. And he had never worked with Lydia before. The girl looked at him, and sighed. “Okay… Please, Jackson, Boyd, spot me on this one. I might need it.”

Liam would have probably felt bad about her lack of trust if he didn’t feel exactly the same way. In front of him, Theo was focused again.

“We’ll do a simple…” Lydia tried, but Peter stopped her. “I want a spin, Lydia. I’m sure you’re able to do that, right ?”

No one ever said no to Peter. She smiled, and nodded. “We’ll do a spin. Do you remember the counts, Liam ?”

“Yep.” He said, putting his hand on her small waist. 

She started the count, and on four, he pushed her in the air, trying to control the movement. She was light, lighter than he remembered flyers being, but he didn’t have time to think about it, as he had to send her even higher. She did her spin, and he felt more than he saw Theo moving on the side. Without thinking, he mirrored the move, only to link his arms with Theo, to receive her small body perfectly in time. 

She touched the ground, clapped, and said “Break”, before looking at Peter expectantly. He had a smirk again, looking at Liam. “Not bad. Clearly, you need some training, but with another experienced tosser, you should be able to get the girls… Most of the time. I’ll think about it. Go back to tumbling boys. Lydia, I want you to work on your needle. I’m thinking about a double leveled pyramid.”

They all nodded, and Liam walked to the side with Theo, who didn’t speak to him. He went to get some water, and pushed his already wet hair from his face. “You weren’t on the team last year, right ?”

“Are you talking to me ?” Liam said, taken aback. Theo closed his water bottle, and frowned. “Uh, yeah ? It’s not like there are a lot of people around us.”

“There are forty people on the mat.” Liam only said. 

“Yeah, and only one person who learnt how to do a correct toss today.”

“I knew how to do a toss before you came in, thank you.”

“Really ? Didn’t seem like it. You know…” Theo came closer to him. “These girls… They are like porcelain. They could break every single time you put your hands on them. It might seem cool to you, tossing them around. Well, let me tell you…”

“Why are you trying to scare me ?” Liam interrupted him, feeling the anger in his chest. “You’re not the coach, my coach, and you don’t…”

“I’m just saying. If you are not a hundred percent sure to get Lydia on the ground in one piece, you shouldn’t do tosses.”

“I’m sure that if you can do it, I can do it.”

Theo laughed at that, a cold laughter coming from his throat. “You wish.”

“Are you always such an asshole ?”

“He is.” Stiles said, coming behind Liam, and clapping him on the shoulder. “I saw what you did back there. Good work buddy !” Liam smiled at him, ready to say 

, but Stiles’ attention was suddenly taken by one of the teams practicing. “SPOT HER ! YOU GOT TO SPOT HER ! ISAAC ! SPOT THE FUCKING GIRL LIKE SHE IS YOUR FIRST BORN CHILD, WHICH YOU PROBABLY WON’T HAVE AS I AM ABOUT TO CASTRATE YOU…”.

Liam looked at Stiles, already running to the small group where Kira was seated on the floor, after a rough landing.

He thought about what Theo had just said. He wasn’t totally wrong. It all seemed cool, and the adrenaline was amazing, but… There was a life in the balance. He turned to share his personal revelation with Theo, only to see him a few meters away, talking to Malia, the both of them waving their arms like they were planning their next move. Sure. In the one year they had been on the team together, Liam had never seen Malia smile at another human, and right now, she had a small smirk on her lips.

He resumed to hating Theo with all his soul.

* * *

  
  


Liam couldn’t feel his arms anymore. He didn’t even remember the last time he did. He kept his eyes on Lydia, and tried to keep up with Theo as they were throwing her in the air again. He saw her body coming back, and he braced himself for the impact. He tried to push through, as Stiles was shouting a few meters from him. “YES. GET HER UP. KEEP HER UP. KEEP HER UP. LIAM. YES. LYDIA YOU LOOK AMAZING. LYDIA YOU’RE A QUEEN. BOYD, SPOT. LYDIA YOU PERFECT PERSON. DON’T LET GO. FLY LYDIA FLY. SPOT HER. AND… YES !”

Two claps, and Lydia shouted “Break !” as Liam bent in two, trying to get his breath back. In front of him, Theo was panting too, a smile on his face. Lydia turned to them. “Great job. I need a little more time to really get that spin, but we should get there.”

Boyd clasped Liam’s shoulder with a smile. “You are getting better at this.”

Liam couldn’t answer yet, but he felt a fuzzy feeling in his chest. Training was hard, but with every successful stunt, he was getting closer and closer to being on the mat. A few meters from them, Peter was looking at them thoughtfully. 

“Allison !” He shouted, suddenly. “I want you to swap places with Lydia for a second”.

Lydia high-fived the girl as she came closer to them. Liam looked at her, taking in how she was a little taller than his usual flyer. She was probably a little heavier two, her muscles and her abs showing, even in her training outfit.

“Hey guys ! What are you practicing ?”

“A scorpion.” Boyd answered. “Three counts.” 

“Cool”, she said, looking at both her tossers. She was pretty in a way Lydia was beautiful, and her smile seemed genuine. “I might need four counts, if that’s okay with you ? I’m still recovering from a bad move with my left leg.”

“Sure”, Theo smiled, and Liam wanted to punch his face because how could he recover from all of the tosses they just did so fast ?

Allison smiled at them, and took her place. “So… Boyd, can you update the counts ?”

“One, four, one, three.” The man said, taking his place behind her. Liam was so thankful for him, sometimes. He knew that, if he ever messed up, Boyd would give everything for the girl to be safe. 

“Break.” She said, and Boyd started counting. Liam only had time to put his hands on her waist, before he had to send her in the air. Stiles was next to him again. “YES. KEEP HER THERE. BALANCE, LIAM, BALANCE.” 

Allison was taller, and Liam hadn’t thought about the fact that she would have a different balance. He kept his hands on her feet, but he had to take a step back. “GOD ALLISON YOU LOOK GREAT. KEEP IT UP. KEEP IT UP.” Stiles was screaming, and Liam felt Allison’s foot slowly, but surely gliding on his shoulder. BOYD, SPOT. BOYD…”

The girl lost her balance, and Boyd jumped to get her shoulders, as Theo trapped his legs. Both boys stumbled, but she didn’t hit the ground. Still, her face showed that her landing hadn’t been smooth, at all. Liam was left frozen, looking at her, guilt creeping up on him.

“You’re good ?” Boyd asked Allison, as Theo released her feet. She smiled, and clapped, like nothing had happened. 

“Good spotting”, she only answered, thanking him with her eyes. 

“Liam ?” Theo asked, taking a step in his direction. “Liam, are you okay ?”.

No, Liam was not okay. He could feel his hands shaking, still mid-air, and he kept his eyes on Allison, thinking about the close-call they just had. 

“I…” He tried, before shaking his head. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” The girl said, but Liam felt his whole body shudder. He took a step back, and looked at the mat. “I need a second…” And he left the group, almost running to the bathroom. 

Things had been going so great with Lydia, that he had forgotten how fast things could go wrong. He opened the tap, and splashed some cold water on his face. He couldn’t help but feel Allison’s foot sliding from his shoulder, again and again, just like if it was still there. He tried to breathe, but the emotions were swirling in his stomach. Tumbling had always been fun, because he was the one responsible for himself. Now that he was training to be a base, he had a life in his hands, and for the first time today, he felt the weight of it on his stomach.

The door of the bathroom opened, and he turned to be faced with Theo. The other guy crossed his arms, and leant on the wall, his face unreadable.

“You okay there ?” 

Liam was torn between pretending that he had things in control, or just crumbling on the ground. Theo seemed to see it, and he let his arms fall on the side of his body.

“You know that’s why Boyd is there, right ? No one is perfect. That’s what back spots are for.”

“... You got her.” Liam said, in a huff. “When she fell, you…”

“You were trying to keep her in place. I had time to see she was falling. I trusted Boyd to get her shoulders. I trusted you to keep her in place long enough for me to get her legs.”

Liam tried to swallow, but his breath was still ragged. “You trusted me ?”

Theo raised his eyes, but his smile was not as harsh as usual.

“Yeah. I trusted you.”

“I messed up.”

“Yep. Just like anyone can mess up. We shouldn’t have done a Scorpion, not without checking her balance before. We got cocky. It’s on both of us.”

“Still…”

Theo sighed.

“What do you want me to tell you, Liam ? Yes, you messed up. It happened. She is fine, and ready to go again as soon as you’re ready.”

Liam frowned. Allison wanted to go again ? After what just happened ? Theo seemed to see his hesitation, and he took a step in his direction.

“She is a flyer. She is used to it. She has had bad falls before, and let me tell you, this wasn’t a bad one. She is fine, and she just wants to train.”

“Maybe you should ask Jackson.”

And at that, Liam saw a flash of anger in Theo’s eyes. “No. I’m not asking Jackshit to take your place. You wanted this, remember ? You told me you were up to it. Do you know how hard it is to get used to another tosser ? I worked on that, with you, and I don’t plan on changing partners soon. Allison is okay, Boyd is waiting, and you need to get back on the horse, right now. This is going to happen again, you know ? You won’t go through a whole season without letting your flyer down. If it’s too hard for you, then leave. But don’t come back whining about the fact that you won’t make mat. Do you want to make mat ?”

Liam turned to the mirror, and looked at his exhausted face. Did he, really ? He thought about his mother, who had been so proud of him when he had shared his progress. He thought about his step-dad, always there, with a camera, for every single one of his performances. He sighed, and splashed some more cold water on his face.

“Yes, I want to make mat.” He whispered.

“Good. Because Stiles is waiting for you, and he is going to walk you through this until we get it right.”

“What if she… What if I…”

“Then we’ll catch her again. And again. No matter how many times you will mess up, we’ll catch her. That’s why there are three of us Liam. She has three people looking out for her.”

Theo was right, and Liam’s reaction was disproportionate. The day before, Kira had fallen again, and hurt her ankle. Allison hadn’t been hurt by their failed stunt. These things happened, and if Peter saw him right now, he would probably demote Liam.

“So, can we go back ?” Theo asked, arching an eyebrow.

Liam nodded, wiping his hands on his sweatpants. “Can we get a second spotter ? Just until…”

Theo nodded. “We’ll get a second spotter. But you’re keeping that girl up, and letting her do her job, because I’m kicking your ass if you don’t.”

Liam smiled at that. “You’re way less original than Stiles with the threats.” 

Theo shrugged. “One can not have all the qualities.”

* * *

When they walked out of the bathroom, Liam felt Allison’s eyes on him. He tried to smile at her, as he was jogging to the mat. “Hey.”

“You okay ?” She asked, sweetly.

“Yep. Just needed some water.”

“I didn’t place my foot correctly. That’s why it slided.”

“I should have kept you up.”

She looked at him, and cupped his face. “You’re too cute.”

“Can the both of you stop flirting please ?” Boyd said, but there was no heat in his voice, and Allison laughed. “That’s not me flirting, and you know it Vernon.”

“Vernon ?” Liam asked, and he could see Boyd’s cheeks becoming more heated. “Don’t call me that.”

“Your name is Vernon ?” He said, a smile slowly creeping on his face.

“Let’s get back to business. Please.” Their back spot said, and Allison laughed a little bit more. “Yeah, we should do that. Can we just do a small one where my only mission is to put my foot correctly, please ?”

Liam was so thankful for that girl, and for the way she had handled the whole situation, that when he turned to Theo, he didn’t feel the usual tension anymore. Theo was smiling too, getting ready to take his place. “Thank you.” Liam mouthed, at the other boy, who seemed surprised by it.

Good. He should always keep Theo on his toes. 

* * *

Two weeks later, they were working with Lydia again, and Liam was seriously thinking about quitting. Every single time they got a stunt right, she had something to say, or to add. She was the worst perfectionist he had ever seen, and she gave him a headache every time she started talking about points. He tried not to listen to her ramble about how spins should be a perfect three hundred sixty degrees, and looked at the other group, just in time to see Erica fall. 

The noise her body made, when she fell flat on the mat from where she was perched, was a loud thumb that seemed to resonate in the whole gym. Every group stopped talking, as Scott, their medic, ran to the girl. 

“Move, move !” Stiles said, pushing Isaac on the side, making room for Scott, who was already kneeling next to the girl. In the silence of the gym, it was easy to hear every single one of his words reverberated.

“Okay, Erica, are you with me ?”

She mumbled something, and he laughed quickly. “Okay, good. You took a good fall. Don’t move yet. Did your head touch the ground first ?”

“It did.” Stiles said, unable to keep quiet. “I saw it, and I heard it. Head first. Neck too.”

Scott didn’t say anything, but he gestured for his assistant to bring a neck brace. “Okay, we are going to take this very slow…”

“People !” Peter yelled, his face red, and his eyes burning into every single one of them. “You know what that means.”

Liam let himself drop on the ground, and started the push-ups. It was the rule, after all. If one of the girls fell, they had to do fifty push ups. If one was unconscious, they had to do push ups until she opened her eyes. The fact that this second rule existed was enough for Liam to feel bile in his mouth. He tried to remember the noise, and he wondered if he actually heard Erica’s neck, or if it was just the mat reverberating the assault.

Every single one of them, girls included, did their fifty push ups, before seating on the ground. Even Stiles did them, a few meters from Erica, and still giving information to Scott. 

“Stilinski, if you don’t shut up soon, you will replace Erica as a flyer until she is fine again”, Peter shouted, and Stiles' face was hilarious as he tried to keep quiet, but still muttered things under his breath. 

Liam looked at Theo, whose eyes were lost somewhere between Erica’s body, and the mat. “Hey”, he whispered. The guy didn’t even look at him, or acknowledge him. “Theo ?”

He saw the exact moment Theo turned into his asshole persona. It was kind of fascinating. A few seconds before, he had looked so open, so vulnerable, and so open. And then, his mouth closed in a thin line. “Yes ?” He snapped. 

“... Nothing.”

* * *

Liam looked at the pile of homework still waiting for him, at the advanced hour, and sighed. Between the training, and the lessons, he was getting behind in almost all of his classes. And he couldn’t have that, because he knew Peter would take off the mat anyone who didn’t get at least a passing grade. 

He stretched, and looked at his bedroom’s window, perfectly situated as he had a view on the gym. The light was on, which wasn’t unusual, as they were all allowed to use it for personal training. 

He knew he needed to finish his essay, but Peter’s decision on the team composition was coming soon, and he could do with some additional training. He took his gym bag, and left the essay behind, promising himself to work on it the next day.

The door was unlocked, and he changed quickly, before entering the main room. He could hear somone running, and jumping, and from the sound of it, it was a male. He was surprised to find Theo, alone, breathing loudly. 

“Hey.”

Theo was startled, and he turned to face him, his mouth still gasping. “Hi.”

“You’re alone ?” Liam asked, looking around. “You know we are not allowed to do anything else than strength and stretching without someone…”

“Yeah, I know.”

The other boy left the mat, to take a few sips of his water bottle. “What are you doing here ?” He asked Liam, before taking his towel, and drying his forehead. 

“Same as you, I guess.”

Theo had a small laugh at that, before shaking his head.

“Not sure about that.”

“You know that if Peter found you tumbling alone…”

“Yeah, yeah, he would have kicked my ass. But you’re here now, so I’m not alone anymore.”

Liam couldn’t find anything to answer, so he started jogging, warming up his body. Theo went back to his exercises, and while running, Liam couldn’t help but look at him. His technique was flawless, and he seemed to change his skill every single time. When he finished one of his lines with a one-handed cartwheel, Liam had to stop, to look at him.

“Dude… That’s amazing.”

Theo faced him, and he didn’t seem as full of himself as usual. Under the neon light, the tiredness was visible, and his eyes seemed slower.

“Hm ?”

“That cartwheel.”

“You can’t do it ?” Theo asked, taking another sip of water. Liam felt his cheeks flushing. He really didn’t want to be teared down by the other athletes. “I never tried.”

“Why ?”

He shrugged. “I already have problems doing a normal one.”

“Problems ?”

“Can’t seem to land it right.”

“Doesn’t mean you can’t do a one-hand one.”

Liam looked at him, and sighed. “Easy for you to say, Mr I-tumble-like-my-life-depends-on-it.” Theo smirked at that, before going back on the mat. “Come on.” He said. “Come, Liam. You’re doing a one-hand cartweel.”

“I just told you…”

“Yeah, you've never done it before. I’m sure at one point, you had never tumbled before, right ?”

Liam crossed his arms. “I can’t…”

“Are you afraid ?” Theo asked, his voice suddenly snarky. “Because if you are, it’s okay…”

“I’m not afraid ! I just don’t know how to do it. God. Is this so hard to understand ?”

Theo gestured at the empty gym, and at him. “There is no audience, and I can teach you. What’s the worst that could happen ?” 

Liam made sure his eyes conveyed how dumb the question was. “I could hurt myself.”

“You could hurt yourself jogging around that mat. Try again.”

“What if I don’t want to ? Can’t I just… I came to train, not to fight.”

Theo raised his hands, and shook his head. “Alright, Dynamite.”

“What did you just call me ?”

Theo smiled, and took a few steps back. “Dynamite ?” And at Liam’s face, he laughed. “You’re just like a dangerous explosive. You keep your cool and then you just lash out.”

Liam couldn’t tell him how right he was. He wasn’t about to tell this stranger, even if he was his teammate, and even his partner, the worst part of his life. Still. He was surprised Theo had paid enough attention to him to understand what was going on under the surface. He resumed his running, and Theo did another full-line, ending with a Flash Kick Layout.

It was clear nothing seemed impossible for him, and Liam envied him. He found himself on the side of the mat, observing again. If Theo had seen him, he didn’t plan on adressing him, as he walked to the beginning of the line, one hand against his ribs. Liam looked around, taking in the emptiness, and the fact that it was late. He couldn’t help but think about what Theo had told him. He never tried new skills for his tumbling, because he felt like he was already having a hard time with the basics. 

What’s the worst that could happen ?

He sighed, and walked on the mat before he had time to change his mind. “Fine.” He told the other boy. “Teach me.”

* * *

“Push. Lift. Hold !” Peter breathed out, next to Liam, as he kept his hand secured around Lydia’s foot. He saw Theo’s hands grabbing her leg, and he felt Boyd approaching behind him. “Hold it, Liam. Hold it.” Peter said. Liam felt like every second was way too long, like every beat was too slow. He felt Lydia’s leg shaking as she tried to hold the position. “Hold it. Hold it.”

How long were they going to wait like this ? He knew that, in the routine, he would never have to keep this up for longer than a few seconds. But Peter was like that, making sure that each and everyone of them was more than ready. So, he gritted his teeth, and kept his head straight. “You're doing good.” Theo whispered, next to him still balancing Lydia’s leg. 

“And… Down.” 

Lydia flipped, and turned, landing in their arms, before claping. She was sweating too, but she had her usual controlled smile, and Liam tried not to look like he was about to collapse. They waited for Peter to write something on his paper, and to walk to another group, before all letting a groan out.

“How long was that ?” Liam asked, grimacing and massaging his hurt shoulder.

“Too long.” Theo said, from the mat where he had laid down, his stomach moving at the rhythm of his ragged breath. 

“Sixteen counts.” Boyd said, while stretching his neck. 

“I can’t feel my ankle.” Lydia commented. They looked at her, dumbfounded. This was the first time they had heard her complain about something else than their abilities. “What ?” She asked, her perfect eyebrow raised. Liam looked at Theo, before both of them started laughing. Even the girl smiled. 

* * *

“Okay, tumblers, take your place. I want to see what you’re made of.”

The girls left the mat, as did a few of the boys, who, like Boyd, were only bases. Liam walked to the end of the mat, as the first tumblers were starting their lines. Theo waved at Liam, who went to wait next to him.

“I think I’m going to do that Back flip Full Twist I practiced the other night ? Do you think it will be enough to win Peter’s heart ?”

Liam raised his eyes. “The guy is already in love with you. You could just run the whole line and you would make the mat.”

“What are you doing ?” Theo asked, as Malia landed a perfect line, with three different skills, earning a slow clap from Peter. 

“I don’t know. I think I’ll do my simple, simple, double.” Liam answered, nibbling his lip.

“Or you could do the one-hand spring.”

Liam laughed weakly. “I did it right like… Two times ? Three ?”

“Four. And that would show Peter that you can still progress on this.”

“Why do you care ?” He asked Theo, as more people went through the exercise. “You know you are going to make it so…”

“You know as well as I do that Peter wants his 

People who can tumble and do stunts. I’ve worked my ass off with you on stunts, with Lydia, and I don’t really want to have to restart with another person just because he thinks you are not strong enough of a tumbler.” Theo said, matter-of-factly. “I have to go. See you on the other side !”

Theo started running, and obviously, he landed his line perfectly, making Peter smile. Even Malia was looking at him from the side, taking in the skills he had put in. Liam sighed. He had planned on taking it easy, and going with something he knew, but maybe Theo was right. Again. If he didn’t take any chances, he would probably end up just like the year before, waiting on the sidelines. 

“Liam ! You’ve got this man. Go !” Stiles shouted from the side. 

He breathed in, and out, before he started running. He tried to remember everything he had worked on with Theo, from his impulsion, to the way his back had to arch. It was still weird, having to balance his whole body on only one hand, but he remembered how Theo had shown him the correct balance.

He didn’t get time to think, as he landed on his ass, in front of Peter’s table.

He could hear the other members of the team talking from the side, and Peter looked at him with the same disinterest he had always shown him.

“And… What was that ?”

Liam didn’t answer. He stood up, his cheeks red, and anger slowly building in his guts. He should have gone with what he knew. He looked for Theo, ready to kill him on sight, but when he met his eyes, he only saw worry. Then, when Theo figured Liam was looking at him, he bit his lips, and nodded.

Without a word, Liam walked down the whole mat, taking his place again, facing the line, and Peter’s table. He didn’t even catch his breath, and started running again. The emotions twirling in his stomach gave him the strength to roll with the whole line, and he pushed on his legs, making sure his one hand spring was clear, and perfect. He landed correctly, and waited for Peter’s appreciation.

He didn’t get any word from him, but Stiles tackled him from the sideline “Man, what was that ? That was amazing ! I never saw you do that !”

“I’ve been training.” Liam said, looking for Theo, who seemed to have disappeared. “I wanted to try something new.”

“Color me impressed ! That’s an awesome skill and Peter would be dumb not to put you on mat, now that you do the whole stunt thing, and that.”

“Let’s hope for the best.”

“Okay, guys, I think I saw enough. I will give you my first draft tomorrow. Be there on time. Only people who take this seriously will get a place on the mat, and as you’ve seen today…” Peter looked at Liam, a sparkle in his eyes, “anyone can take your place”. 

Liam didn’t see Theo leaving.

* * *

“So, now that we’ve got our flyers… Please girls, calm down… Let’s go over our tumblers. Malia, you’re in. Brett… Greenberg…”

It was excruciating, waiting for the news, and Liam tried to breathe. Obviously, Lydia had been chosen as one of the flyers, but he could see on her face that she was not totally satisfied, as Allison had been chosen to be the Top Girl. Peter went through the list of names slowly, and, when he finished calling the few tumblers, Liam felt like a switch had been turned off. He didn’t make it. He wasn’t good enough to be selected just to be a base in the stunts. That was for people like Boyd. He was so attentive to his own name that he wasn’t even sure Theo’s name had been called. 

“... Liam…” Peter said, and he felt his neck snapped as he looked at the Coach. “What ?” He croaked, and everyone started laughing around him. Lydia fell on top of him, and hugged him. “You made it ! You’re a stumbler !” She was probably happy about the fact that she wouldn’t have to train another person, but he still accepted the hug gratefully. Boyd smiled at him, and then, he felt a breath near his ear.

“Congratulations, Dynamite.”

He looked at his left, only to meet Theo, whose face was happy and carefree. He smiled back, and offered him a fist-bump. It took Theo a few seconds to understand the move, and Lydia snatched her phone, to take a picture of them fist-bumping each other. 

“Wait… You’re a stumbler too, right ?” Liam asked, remembering he didn’t hear Theo’s name. To which Theo only answered “Obviously. What did you expect ? We are kind of partners, if you didn’t already notice it.”

Liam looked around him, at the glee shared by the twenty people who had been called on the first draft. He tried not to look at the rest, some who were already crying, and others who were leaving. 

“Remember, people, this is only a draft, and I can switch people as much as I want to, so stay positive, stay active, and don’t take anything for granted. I’ll see you all tomorrow, seven o’clock, for our first pyramid training.”

Peter left them, and Theo stood up, offering his hand to Liam. 

“The worst is yet to come you know ?”

Liam only smiled. 


	2. The one with Theo's past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo is faced with some repressed feelings. Liam is faced with Theo's growing presence in his life.

If Liam thought baskets tosses were hard, he had never imagined what working on a pyramid was like. They had started going through the sections, and because everyone had to find their footings, every single stunt lasted very long. He had to keep Lydia up the time the others needed to get into place. 

His shoulders were giving up, his arms were shaking, his legs were heavy, and he couldn’t help but wonder if he really was made for this.

“Let’s get her down”, Theo finally said, his hands on her leg. “Lydia ? Can we get you down ?” 

“Sure”, she said, slowly lowering one of her legs. Boyd went to catch her, and Liam sat on the floor. “What’s going on ?” she asked, looking at him, puzzled. Liam didn’t say anything, closing his eyes for a few seconds, but Theo took the liberty of answering.

“What is happening is that we have been doing this part for half an hour, the others can’t seem to get their girls up, and Liam is about to faint.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you want me to take your place ?” Boyd offered, but Liam shook his head. “Nope. I’ll be fine. I need a minute.”

“What in hell are you doing ?”

Peter was walking in their direction, and clearly, he was unhappy. “Liam, do I need to put you down or something ?”

“We just need a break”, Theo tried, putting his body between the coach and Liam. “We’ve got this part, Coach.”

“I am the one who decides if you’ve got this part. Liam, if you can’t hold it…”

“I can hold it”, he said, standing up and forcing a smile. “I’ll hold it.”

“Don’t make me regret making you part of this team. Lydia, I told you to angle.”

“Yes, coach.” 

Theo sighed, as Peter left them to scream on another team. 

* * *

“And… Jump ! Jump ! Point. These. Toes. Jump ! Jump !”

Liam could feel his eyes burning, and the sweat running down his chin. Jumping wasn’t his strong suit, but they all had to do their part if they wanted to look like a team. He also knew learning the choreography between the stunts, and looking good while doing it, was going to be a pain in the ass.

As he was now used to, Theo was doing the exercise next to him, jumping every single time Peter pronounced a word. It was a good motivational thing, for Liam, as he promised himself he wouldn’t stop before Theo did. And Theo ? Well, the guy had a lot of stamina.

In front of him, Stiles was doing the exercise too, even if his jumps were the worst Liam had ever seen. Peter didn’t seem to care. Generally, anything involving Stiles didn’t matter to Peter. 

“And… Jump ! Jump ! Jump ! Now ! Allison ! Look ! Alive ! Erica ! Flex !”

It was gruesome, the whole cardio part, and Liam wished he had spent more time working out during the holidays. He could hear the other people breathing loudly, but no one wanted to be the first one to stop.

“And jump ! Work on these flexions ! Work ! Work !” Peter kept repeating, as the noise they made while landing on the mat was astonishing. Liam prayed for it to end, wished he could just sit, and have some water, and maybe a good bath. Yes, a bath. Where could he find a bath on the campus ?

“And. We’re. Done !”

There was a general sigh of relief, as everyone fell on the mat, some laying down, others bent in two. Liam closed his eyes, and tried to catch his breath. When he finally felt like his head was not in a vise anymore, he stayed on the ground and moved his neck to look at Theo. The guy was down too, one of his hands on his abs, which Liam could see as his T-shirt seemed to have rumpled. It was not fair to look that way. Liam knew he looked good, he trained hard for it, but he felt like his face wouldn’t  _ grow _ and when compared to someone like Theo, it was hard not to see how handsome the other guy was. 

Theo must have felt his eyes on him, as he turned to face Liam, a smile on his face.

“I hate this sport.”

“Yeah, me too.”

* * *

“YES. LET’S GO. YOU’RE ON THE TOP. YES ! COME ON ALLI ! YOU’RE NOT TIRED ! PUSH ! PUSH! !” Stiles was shouting next to Liam, as they were looking at the girl working on her tumbling. As a flyer, she had to be able to take part in the whole choreography, and clearly, she was struggling. Her moves were weak, and she stumbled instead of landing.

“What’s happening to her ?” Liam whispered, and Stiles looked quickly at him. “Performance stress. Being the Top Girl and all. YES. ERICA. PUSH. PUSH. YOU AMAZING WOMAN. YES. YES. Oh god she landed bad. AMAZING YOU SWEET HEART OF MINE. Here goes Lydia. YES. YOU GOT THIS GIRL. OH MY GOD. LYDIA. YOU FIRESTARTER. YOU GODESS. YOU… Ouch. YOU DID GREAT BABY.”

Liam heard Theo laugh, and he turned to look at him. The other cheerleader was sitting on the bunch, bandaging his foot. He was looking at Stiles, with a smile that Liam rarely saw. And then, just like it seemed to happen so often, his whole face changed, and he appeared closed up again. One day, Liam would definitely need to ask one of these two what had happened between them. 

“So, how do you feel ?” Scott came to ask Liam.

“... Fine, why ?” He didn’t hurt himself recently, and he had no reason to be checked on. Scott smiled at him, always so calm, and collected, a beacon of hope when Peter was shouting in the back.

“First year on the mat, and you have a lot on your plate.”

“I’m fine.” Liam repeated, while looking at Lydia’s jumps. “I’ve got a great team.”

“That you do.” Scott glanced quickly at Theo. “How are things going with your partner ?”

Liam took a few seconds to look at the bench, and was glad Theo was still focused on his foot, and not looking at him. “It’s going… Better than I expected.”

“You know, Theo has a lot of experience, right ?”

“Yeah, I got the memo.”

“Good. Because I know you have been training almost every evening with him, and the last thing I want is for you to exhaust yourself, or to suffer an injury.” Liam looked at Scott, surprised, and the older guy raised an eyebrow. “I know things, Liam. That’s my job. That, and taking care of you. I know how exciting it is to be on the mat, but I don’t want you to burnout.” 

“I won’t”, he said, before looking at the girls again. “Allison is really having a bad day.”

Scott mirrored his position, and took the whole scene in. “Hmm… Yes. I’ll talk to her tonight.”

* * *

“And again ?” Theo offered, a smile on his face. It never ceased to amaze Liam, the way Theo was so different when it was only the two of them, at night. He looked younger, carefree, and like he was having fun. He tumbled around, trying new skills, and ending on his ass sometimes, but it didn’t seem to bother him. He had enough confidence to try, and try again, and he made it work every time.

Liam, on another hand… Liam felt like he needed to make things right multiple times, to ingrain them into his head, and to make sure he would never fail. But Theo didn’t mock him for that. In fact, he encouraged him, giving him pointers, and counting the successes. 

“And that’s ten in a row ! You’re on fire tonight Liam !”

He had to smile. He couldn’t help it. He accepted the fist-bump, and the bottle of water, as they sat on the mat, Theo stretching his heels, and Liam zoned out. His conversation with Scott came back to his mind. He thought about talking about it with Theo, but he didn’t know how to tackle the subject. He took a sip from the almost warm water, before asking. 

“Don’t you ever want to take a break ?”

Theo looked at him, bent in two and touching his toes. “A break ? To do what ?”

“I don’t know. I mean, you spend most of your time training with the team, or with me, and the rest studying. Don’t you ever want to go out ?”

He didn’t think his question would bear such a weight, but he could immediately see on Theo’s face that he had chosen the wrong subject. Theo didn’t look at him anymore, and he streched even further down. “Nah.” He said, after a silence. “I like what I do. I don’t see myself doing anything else.”

“Fair enough.” Liam said, before standing up. “What if you get injured though ?”

Theo’s eyes became darker, and his usual smirk came into place. Liam wanted to punch it very far away from the face he had learnt to know. “Do you doubt me, Dynamite ? Or… Are you worried about me ?”

Liam laughed, like what he just heard was very far from the truth. He laughed like he didn’t care, because obviously, that’s how he should have felt. But hearing it from Theo’s mouth, he couldn’t help but wonder if a small part of him wasn’t, in fact, worried. What Scott had said for him was true for Theo too. Training hard, and pushing his limits was okay, but how much time did Theo really spend in the gym ? He was always there when Liam arrived, and there was not a single night he had seen the light off.

“I’m just saying… Sometimes, you have the right to take a day off.”

“Have you met Peter ? Theo asked, stretching the other way, his t-shirt following the movement, leaving almost all of his abs naked, which Liam purposefully avoided to look at. “I’m sure the word day-off would give him a heart attack or something.”

“Yeah, probably. Can we work on our counts for the baskett toss of the pyramid ? It got so crazy yesterday that I can’t remember the whole second part.”

“Sure. Let’s do that.”

* * *

“One, two, three, four.”

Liam and Theo threw Lydia in the air, and it was almost ridiculous how that part seemed easy now. They knew perfectly well the girl, her stance, and each other. They didn’t need as much energy as they used to. She held her position, made sure to mark her skill, and tumbled down in their arms. 

“Five, six…”

Another movement, and she was back in the air, and her feet found Liam’s shoulder easily. Theo came to hold it in place, as she was stretching her leg behind her head. 

Around them, the rest of the team was doing almost the same thing, as the first part of the pyramid consisted in having them mirror each other.

“Seven…”

Liam was so focused on Lyda, and Theo, that he didn’t hear the concussion behind him. He didn’t hear the scream, the people falling down. Lydia’s feet were still on him, and he was preparing for her reception, when someone pushed him out of the way.

“Eight !”

He almost fell down immediately, and he felt Lydia try to find her balance. He didn’t care about the ground, and how much it would hurt. The only thing in his mind was the fact that Lydia was still in the air and he needed to get her back down safely. He grabbed her legs, and tried to keep them up his head as he fell down. He prayed for Theo and Boyd to get the rest of her, in the middle of everyone screaming.

He felt Lydia fall, and flex until she was using his hands as a pedestral. He closed his eyes, waiting for the shock of her body on his, but it didn’t come. Instead, when he fluttered them open, he was faced with Boyd, laying on his back, half of Lydia on him, and Theo, between the both of them, holding her waist like it was the most precious thing in the world.

A few seconds passed, as they all realized their position, and finally, Liam let go of the girl’s legs. “I’m sorry, someone litteraly walked on me”, he explained, trying to check the state of his body. Theo was already standing up, and helping their flyer do the same. “You okay Lydia ?”

The girl didn’t seem phased, at all, but then again, when did she ? She made sure her hair was still perfectly pulled up, and looked at Liam. “I’m fine. Boyd is a very comfortable mattress. I can finally see what Erica sees in him.”

“... What ?” Theo said, looking at her, and then at Boyd, before a smile illuminated his face “you don’t say…”.

“These two have been doing it like rabbits. Seriously, Boyd, I like you and I like her but I almost walked on the both of you when going to take my shower. There’s a reason those are called  _ communal. _ ”

Theo laughed, and offered a hand to Liam. “You okay ?” 

Liam tried to move the different parts of his body. It felt weird, like he was not totally connected to it anymore, but he didn’t think anything was broken. “I think I’m fine.”

Theo didn’t let go of his hand immediately. Instead, he brought him closer, a smile on his face. “You did good there. It could have been catastrophic. But you hold on to her. You hold on to Lydia. You didn’t want her to fall.”

“Of course I didn’t want her to fall !” Liam reacted. “I never want her to !”

“I know that, jeez, calm your balls. I was just telling you you were good.”

“I didn’t keep her from falling down.”

“No, but you didn’t let go, and you gave us time to get a hold on her.”

Liam was ready to answer that he didn’t remember exactly what had happened, when he suddenly saw the small red pool on the floor. He looked around, first at himself, and then at Theo. Theo, whose elbow was bleeding heavily, the skin ripped around it.

“Fuck, Theo !” He looked around, and noticed that Scott was next to one of the girls on the floor. Oh, yes. Something had happened and he had no idea what exactly. Still. “Can we have a medic please ?”

“We don’t need a medic.” Theo stated, taking off his shirt, and rolling it around his injury. “I’m fine, see ?”

“Theo, that’s an open wound. You don’t want an infection. Also, that must hurt like a bitch.”

The guy just shrugged. “I’m fine.”

“What’s happening ?” Lydia asked, being apparently done with debating Boyd’s lovelife.

“Not…”

“Theo got hurt when falling. He doesn’t want to see Scott.”

The girl looked at Theo, a hand on her hip. “Seriously ? Theo. Do we have to have this conversation again ?”

“Again ?” Liam repeated. 

“Shut up.” They both said at the same time, without looking at him. There were long seconds, during which they seemed to have a personal conversation with their eyes, before Theo let a small sigh escape his lips. “Fiiiiine. I’ll go. Ugh.”

Liam looked at him, walking towards the end of the mat, a frown on his face.

* * *

“You’re out for four days.” 

“What the fuck ?” Theo shouted, clearly upset. Scott had just spent a few minutes cleaning the wound, and bandaging it. The medic didn’t flinch at Theo’s reaction, as he was used to people being mad at him for putting them out.

“You need to let the skin get better. If you keep flexing your elbow, you are going to reopen it. And it’s going to hurt. A lot.”

“I can still train without flexing it.” Theo countered. “I can work on my cardio. You don’t have to pull me out.”

“I’m afraid I do. Theo, you need rest. And this ? This could end up as a two-week injury. Do you want that ?”

“I don’t care. Let me do my things. Please.” 

Liam could see how Theo was trying to keep calm, his fists trembling against his thighs. He was looking at Scott, like he hoped the medic would reevaluate the situation. Which Scott did not. 

“I’m sorry Theo. You’re out. You can stay by the mat and watch…” 

“You are all fucking crazy. I did everything I had to, and you have no idea what I went through. You have no right to make that decision for me.”

Now, everyone had stopped, and they were all watching the interraction. Scott got up, and he frowned.

“Maybe we should take this somewhere else.”

Theo scoffed. “Don’t bother. If you don’t want me on your team, then I’m the one who is leaving.”

Scott tried to grab his arm, the one that was not injured, but Theo dodged him, and almost ran to the locker room. Everyone was still silent. No one ever shouted at Scott. Obviously, being asked to sit on the side of the mat was pretty awful, but they usually took that time to cheer on the rest of the team, and rest. No one had ever stormed out from a practice before. Peter walked quickly in Scott’s direction, and whispers started emerging. 

“What is happening to him ?” Boyd muttered, looking at Scott, and then at the door .

“He needs time to cool down.” Lydia answered. “Liam, can you help me with my tumbling ? Liam ?”

“... Sure”, he said, still looking at the door that Theo had slammed on his way out.

* * *

That night, he looked by his window so many times he lost the count of. He was almost sure Theo would come back, and go train, whatever Scott had said. But the lights stayed out, and Liam didn’t feel like going alone.

He didn’t sleep very well.

* * *

“Where the fuck is Raeken ?” Peter asked, once they were all in front of him. 

“He is out for three more days”, Lydia answered, still clipping her hair.

“That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have to come. You all know the rules. If you’re out, but you can still breathe, you’re here and cheering the others on. This is unadmissible. If he isn’t here tomorrow, you can tell him there is no point in coming back.

“... Yes, Coach.” She said, a fake smile in place. Then, she took Liam’s arm, and walked apart from the group. “Can you text him ?” She asked, her eyes a little worried.

He opened his mouth, and looked at the Coach. He really seemed angry at the idea that Theo was ditching practice. “I don’t have his number.” He said. She frowned. “But you train together all the time ! How do you plan…”

“I can see the gym from my dormroom. I know when someone is there. We don’t really plan the training, it just happens.” 

She looked like she was about to say something, but Peter was already shouting orders around, and they started jogging side by side.

“Do you know where he lives ?”

“How would I know that Lydia ? It’s not like we are friends.”

She looked at him like he was the dumbest person on the planet, which was a look he has started to anticipate with her. “You aren’t friends ? Seriously Liam ?”

“We are partners here. We train together. But we are not like, sharing stuff about our lives.”

She ran a little faster, and he adjusted his speed. “I just thought..” She shook her head. “You know you are like the only person he talks to, here ?”

“Uh ?”

“He doesn’t even adress me, except for our stunts exercises.”

“He talks to Malia.” Liam said, looking around for the girl, who was running with two other boys.

“They are both elite tumblers who like to rile each other up. That’s all there is.” She answered, and when he looked at her, she smiled. “Malia might not share the whole flying part with us, but we do share a lockroom.”

“Still, they talk. See.”

“Whatever, Liam.” She said, smiling at him, and speeding. He let her go, happy to jog alone for a while.

* * *

Before leaving the gym, Liam went to Scott, still unsure about how to deal with the situation. The medic smiled at him, before looking at his face. “Is everything okay ? Did you hurt yourself ?”

“No, everything is fine. I just.. I need information and I don’t know where to get it.”

Scott smiled, because apparently that was his answer to everything. “Do tell.”

Liam breathed out. “I need to know where Theo lives.”

Well, apparently, Scott didn’t smile all the time because right now, he looked worried.

“What’s happening ?”

Liam sighed, and sat on the bench, defeated. “We don’t have Theo’s number, or anything. And Peter said that if he doesnt come tomorrow, he is off for good. I just want to warn him, I guess.”

“That’s really nice of you Liam. But you should know that Theo is not your responsability, right ?”

Liam tried to understand why he wanted to help so much. Theo had never… Okay, maybe Theo had helped him out a few times, and he wanted to get even. That made sense.

“I just want to tell him. That’s all. He isn’t used to our rules and everything. Maybe where he comes from, when you’re out, you don’t have to come. It’s not fair not to give him all the info.”

Scott nodded. “Alright. I’ll get you his number.”

Liam could feel his face lighten up. “Really ?”

“Yeah. We’ve got everyone numbers. Just promise me not to use it for anything bad.”

“Sure, I promise. I just want to…”

“To warn him. I got that Liam. Wait a minute.”

Scott went into the office, and when he came back, it was with a piece of paper, where he had written Theo’s name, and his phone number.

* * *

Liam waited to be in his room, after his shower, to compose the number. He had tried to think of a text, but he couldn’t find the right way to tell Theo that he had to come back, without it looking like a plea. And he wasn’t pleading, far from that.

He heard a few rings, and just when he tought he would end up on the answering machine, Theo’s voice could be heard. “Hello ?”

Liam breathed out. “Hey, Theo. It’s me. I mean, it’s me. Liam.”

There was a silence on the other line, but Liam could hear the breathing. “How did you get that number ?”

“I have my ways.” He only answered, not really ready to talk about the fact that he went to Scott for it when Theo had left for exactly the same reason.

“You know that if you really wanted my number, you could just have asked me ?”

Why was he blushing ? Was it because Theo’s voice was mellow, on the other side ? Or was it because of the innuendo that maybe Liam was running after the other guy ?

“... And how was I supposed to do that when you didn’t show today.”

“Oh. Yeah. Fair enough.”

Theo’s voice went from smooth, to tense. Liam didn’t like it. “It’s just, I wanted you to know… Even if you’re off the mat, you’re supposed to show up.”

There was another silence on the other side of the line, before Theo sighed. “I know how cheerleading teams work, Liam.”

Oh. He didn’t really expect this. He knew Theo had been pissed, but he didn’t think he would really be quitting.

“So, you want to be fired ?”

“No, I want to quit. Actually, I want to leave.”

“Leave ?”

“Yeah. I came here to be part of this team, so if I’m not in it anymore, it doesn’t make sense for me to study here. There are like hundreds of better schools.”

“But there is only one Wolfsbane team.” Liam answered, in a small voice. “I get that you are angry Theo, but we were doing great, and I know you like cheer.”

He didn’t get an answer, but he knew Theo was still listening, because the seconds were still counted on his phone screen. Liam coughed a little, trying to control his voice. “We are doing great, the four of us. You can’t leave us right now. Just imagine how much work we would have to do to make it work with someone else. You told me once that you worked your ass off to be my partner. Just imagine me, the basketcase, having to teach someone else how to throw Lydia in the air ? She will probably break a leg, and not like in a lucky way, in the first three days and…”

“Liam ?”

“Yeah ?” He tried to catch his breath.

“Do you want me to come back ?”

“... Yeah ?”

“Why ?”

And he had a lot of good answers to that, technicalities just like the ones he had just rambled about, but he knew that technicalities were not going to win Theo back.

“I need my partner back.”

“Your partner, uh ?”

“Shut up. You were the one who brought this up.”

“Yep. And you like it.”

“You’re not half that bad when people get to know you.”

“People ?”

“Well myself. I mean. I like training with you.”

“So, you want me to come back.”

“That’s just what I said Theo.”

“Yeah. I just like hearing you say it.”

“So… You’ll be there tomorrow ?”

He heard a sigh on the line. “... Yeah. Watching all of you have fun while trying to make myself invisible.”

“Good.”

“Great. Have a good night Liam.”

“Yeah, you too.”

  
  


* * *

The next day, when he arrived at the gym, Liam dressed quickly, and he felt an intense wave of relief when he saw Theo, sitting on the bench, his face hidden in a Wolfsbane hoodie. He jogged to him.

“You came.”

Theo looked at him, with a small smile.

“I did. Did you doubt me again, Dynamite ?”

Liam offered him his fist, and he heard Malia whooping. He turned, taken aback, but she only smiled at the both of them. “You got the man back !”

It was the first time she actually talked to Liam, but she didn’t seem so untouchable anymore. “Yeah. He is a dickhead, but he is in for the team.”

“I thought I wouldn’t have any competition anymore, Theo.” She said, gravely. “Do you have any idea how it felt ?”

“No one to tell you how bad your twists are ? Awful, I get it.” He answered, smiling at the girl. Then, he turned to Liam. “You should probably warm up.”

“Yeah, I should.” 

He took a few steps back, but he didn’t miss Malia exchanging a long look with Theo.

* * *

“So…” Peter sighed, as he had asked them to circle around him. “I thought about it a lot, and I’ve talked to our dear Allison. I think it’s better for everyone to make some arrangements. Lydia ?” He looked at the girl next to Liam. “You’re Top Girl starting today.”

Liam thought the news would make her happy, but she paled. “Does that mean I’m on the top of the pyramid ?”

“Yeah. We’ll talk you through it. We’ll spend some time today, just you, Allison, and the guys who know what to do with the Top Flyer. And me, obviously.”

Liam frowned, but Lydia was quicker.

“So I’m not with Theo and Liam anymore ?”

Peter raised his eyes. “Yes. I see that your brain isn’t as damaged as those of most of the people on the team. The twins know what to do with you to bring you on the top of it. It wouldn’t make sense to ask Liam and…” He looked at the guy on the bech. “And Theo to learn a whole new part of the routine.”

She didn’t say anything, but she shared a long look with Boyd. Then, she turned to Liam. “Take care of Allison, alright.”

“I will. Good luch getting on the top of the world.”

“I’m the queen, right ?”

* * *

“I swear to god, if you let that girl fall like you let Allison fall…” Stiles was pointing at Ethan’s chest, his eyes dark. “You don’t get to make the same mistake twice. Capische ?”

“What’s happening ?” Liam asked, confused.

Stiles turned to him, his face content again. “Nothing, nothing. Just making sure my boy Ethan knows that Lydia’s life is a precious thing to me.”

“What did you mean by… Did they let Allison fall ?”

Stiles sighed, and sat on the side of the mat.

“You didn’t see it. You were too focused on your stunt. But the reason why you ended up falling is… Ethan is great, okay ? He tumbles good, and he is tall, and broad, but fuck it if he ever knows how to grab a foot. You know how the pyramide goes. Erica and Kira get on top of the guys, and then Allison was supposed to end up doing a stunt on them. Well, she landed on the girls, but no one kept her there. She just fell from the second level. Her spotter kinda saved her ass, but she is just too frightened by the whole thing to go back.”

“So, that’s why Lydia is taking her place ?”

“Yeah.”

“And who will spot for her ?”

“Probably Danny. He saved Allie’s ass, don’t worry. He’s good. But I don’t trust the twins.”

“Gotcha.”

Liam looked at Lydia, who was talking to the two identical boys who were going to be her tossers from now on. She radiated power, and energy, and they seemed entranced with her. Still, after listening to what had really happened during their last pyramid, he didn’t feel at ease. He saw Peter walking by, and went to him.

“Peter ?”

“What now, Liam ?”

“As long as Theo is out, we don’t have a second tosser.”

“And ? Boyd can toss.”

“But then we won’t have someone to spot Allison, and I’m not sure it’s a great idea to change the tosser without having someone to spot her.”

“What do you want ?”

“Maybe I can stay around and help Danny spot Lydia ? If she is learning the whole routine, it would probably be for the best. There will be three girls in the air and it would probably be safer.”

Peter looked at him, clearly trying to decide if Liam was worth listening. Still. He was an amazing tactician, and after what had happened at the last pyramid reharsal, he wouldn’t want to take any risks.

“... Fine. Bring Boyd. I’ll tell Allison to work on her tumbling.”

“Thanks.”

When he arrived near Lydia, she looked at him expectantly. “What are you doing here ?”

“Spotting for you. Boyd will be there too.”

She looked at the twins, at the two girls she was supposed to get on top of, and at Danny, before letting a long sigh escape her lungs. “Thank god. I’m glad you’ll be there.”

“... Really ?”

She looked at him with amusement.

“Yeah, Liam, really. I trust you, and Boyd. And Theo, obviously. And if I have to be thrown in the air, twisting and flipping like a fish on a line, I’m glad you’ll be around to catch me.”

“Boyd is a better spotter than me.” He said, matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, but you’re the one who never gives up.” She answered, sure of the words. 

* * *

“And six, seven, eight.” Boyd counted calmly, his eyes on the two girls already hanging in the air. The twins started jumping, before throwing Lydia at the top, and she got her hands on Erica’s shoulders, while Kira leveled with her feet. The whole pyramid was wobbling, but everyone tried to hold on.

“THAT’S IT !” Stiles was shouting from the side. “HOLD HER THERE. DON’T YOU DARE LET THE WOMAN OF MY DREAM FALL. YOU LOOK SICK AS HELL GIRLS, THAT’S AMAZING. JACKSON, PUSH ! KIRA, HOLD, HOLD, GOOD GIRL. SMILE, LYDIA, YOU’RE ON TOP OF THE WORLD ! HOLD, HOLD…”

Liam saw the way Erica lost her balance for a second, and before he knew it, Boyd and him raced to the side to get Lydia before she hit the ground. She landed in their arms in a loud thump, and grimaced, but she looked thankful when she saw them.

“Good to know you both have the ability to pick girls out.” Stiles commented from the sideline, his eyes worrily. “Is she okay ?”

“She is fine.” Lydia answered for herself, standing up, and moving her shoulders, before clapping. “Let’s try it again.”

“God, you’re amazing Lydia.” He answered. “Did I ever tell you how amazing you are ?”

“Yeah, like a thousand times. Still, not going out with you. Like, ever.”

“Never say never.”

“Stiles, if you keep quoting Justin Bieber to me…” 

Liam laughed, and brushed Lydia’s side. He looked quickly at Theo, who was now standing up. He had probably seen the scene from afar, and they exchanged a long look. “She is fine.” Liam articulated. He saw the look of relief on Theo’s face. 

It was interesting, working with the Top Flyer, and the pyramid. But he couldn’t wait for things to go back to normal, and to have Theo by his side again.

* * *

“One more day.” Theo said, as the whole team was leaving. “One more day and I get to go back on the mat.”

Liam smiled at him, and accepted the bottle of water. “Not used to the sidelines ?”

“Not really, now. And let me tell you, it sucks. I’ve got all this energy, and I really need to get it out.”

“We could go for a run ?” He offered, while trying to get rid of the sweat on his face. “I mean, you will probably run circles around me but I still have stamina.”

Theo didn’t answer immediately. He looked around them, eyes darker. “We can’t be seen. If Scott knows about that…”

“Yeah, I am not trying to get you out of the team. But if we run together, and we are seen, you’ll be able to say you were just like checking my time. Running alone would bring more attention.”

“... That actually makes sense.”

* * *

“So.. Ready for our first full-out ?”

Liam looked at Theo, who was alrady bandaging his hands, and he tried not to look as scared as he felt, but he probably didn't succeed, because Theo’s eyes got softer, like everytime he saw Liam struggling with his nerves.

“This is such a bad idea.” Liam said, while stretching his legs. “We can’t do half the parts, and now we have to do the whole routine.”

“That's why we do a lot a full-out, Liam. Peter needs to see how much we suck to make it better.”

“I just don’t want anything bad to happen.” He answered, his eyes flickering towards the wall, where Lydia was doing abs exercises, perched on a bar. Theo followed his gaze, and sighed.

“Yeah. Let’s just make sure we don’t drop Allison. If you feel like you can’t go on with tumbling, don’t. Just be there every time we need to do something with her.”

When he first met Theo, Liam would have probably answered something along the lines of  _ I can absolutely do this _ but he knew it was not worth it to hide behind bravado anymore. He just nodded. He must have still looked awful, because Theo’s hand squeezed his shoulder, and it was not like Theo was very tactile.

“Everyone who is not on the mat will be spotting. Nothing bad can happen. Just try not to run into anyone and you’re golden.”

“How can you be so cool about this ?”

“There’s no point in trying to avoid the inevitable.”

* * *

A whole routine was two minutes and fifteen seconds, which probably sounded ridiculous to someone who had never done one, but it was two minutes and fifteen seconds of gymnastics, dancing, jumping, and throwing people around. They were all waiting in the locker room, and Stiles was talking about how they got this, but all Liam could do was hyperventilate. Seriously, why did he ever choose to do this ? He had hated not being on the mat, but right now, he would give almost anything to be out of the twenty people who are going to do this. 

Next to him, Theo’s face was unreadable, but it made sense, as he was listening to Stiles. Theo never let his emotions show when Stiles was involved, which was exactly the contrary of what Stiles did. Liam tried to focus on that, tried to think about anything else but the full-out, but he kept looking at the girls, and thinking how bad things could go.

“Calm down” Theo whispered, next to him, his eyes still on Stiles. “Liam, seriously. You need to breathe.”

He was glad everyone was too engrossed in Stiles’ speech to pay attention to him. He was probably a mess. He tried calming his breathing, but he couldn’t help but think that time was ticking, and he was going to get on the mat while still hyperventilating and…

A hand reached out for his, and without a word, Theo entertwined their fingers. Liam felt his heart stop at the unexepected contact. The other guy was still not looking at him, but his hand was strong around Liam. It was easier to just think about that, about their hands. Liam pushed the memories away, and tried to anchor himself into the situation. He knew most of the team would hold hands, casually, but he had never seen Theo do the same. Still, he looked pretty okay, his hand still around Liam’s, and his eyes on the door.

“SO, ARE WE READY TO ROCK THIS ?”

“YES” Everyone answered, shouting at the top of their lungs, and Stiles seemed even more fired up.

“WHAT DO WE SAY TO THE GOD OF FAILURE ?

“NOT TODAY !”

“WHAT DO WE SAY TO THE GOD OF FEAR ?”

“NOT TODAY !”

“WHAT DO WE SAY TO THE GOD OF FALLING ?”

“NOT TODAY ! NOT TODAY ! NOT TODAY !” The team chanted, while jumping around. Liam couldn’t help but smile, and he felt himself getting hyped too. 

“See ?” Theo said, finally looking at him. “We got this.”

* * *

They hadn’t got this.

Liam knew that the first full-out was bound to be horrible, but he didn’t think three out of five girls would end up on the floor before they even started the pyramid part. Also, two guys were hurt too, which meant that they had succeedeed in hurting twenty five percent of their team.

Scott was running around, checking on people, and Allison looked really pale as she was looking at the other girls. Liam tried not to approach, because it would not help anyone to have people flailing around, but his attention was called by something that he had never heard before.

Lydia was screaming.

He looked quickly at Theo, and they approached the girl, who was facing Jackson, Ethan, and Isaac. She was so small, compared to them, but as she was pointing her finger at their chests, it was clear no one was ready for what was coming.

“YOU ARE ALL FUCKING DISASTERS ! 

“Lydia…” Stiles tried, jogging to them.

“Shut up, Stiles ! Shut up ! They didn’t even try ! I saw it. This fucker” she pointed at Isaac. “This fucker was not even looking at Erica. And this one ?” She pointed at her ex-partner, Jackson, who seemed appaled by being called out. “YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO KEEP KIRA SAFE. YOU DIDN’T EVEN TRY TO GET TO HER ! YOU TOOK A STEP BACK AND…” Stiles' arms landed around her, and he tried to make her take a step back. “Don’t ! I’m not done. You, Ethan ? I don’t want you to touch me anymore. I don’t trust you. You’re all joking around, and you don’t even care if half of my friends are on the ground right now ! This is not funny ! Don’t you get it ? I don’t trust you !”

“Lydia…” Stiles tried again, while almost all the team was watching the scene, eyes wide with surprise. “Lydia, calm down.”

“I’m not calming down ! These girls are my friends and I care for them. Obviously, these guys don’t. Peter ! Peter !” She screamed at the Coach, who was walking in her direction. She faced him, and her quick movement almost sent Stiles to the ground. “I am not flying again until you find me tossers who actually care about my life. That’s final.”

And then, with a last look at all of them, Lydia left the group, to get next to where Kira was laying on the ground, Scott next to her.

“What the fuck happened ?” Liam asked, and he didn’t expect Peter to be the one to answer.

“Let’s watch it.”

Liam was given the precious Ipad, and he felt Theo at his right, and Stiles at his left. They all looked at the screen, as the music started. Everything went pretty well, a few tumbling mistakes but nothing bad. Then, groups were formed, and basket tosses started. Liam tried to focus on Erica, who seemed to fall behind her group, no one spotting her, but his eyes were also looking at Kira, whose team couldn’t seem to help as she flailed on the side. It was painflul to watch, honestly.

He stopped watching, only to look at the girls already on the floor. Kira was crying, Allison next to her, talking to her. Erica was still laying flat, and Liam remembered how she hurt her neck a few weeks before. He hoped it’s nothing serious. 

“Peter ? Can you call an ambulance please ?” Scott asked, his voice calm, but his eyes worried.

They all knew what that meant.

Without a word, every standing person started kneeling, and push ups were done in a complete silence. 

* * *

_ Are you in for a run ? I don’t feel like studying tonight. _

Liam looked at Theo’s text, his own essay still open on his computer. He tried, and tried, but the memories of their first full-out seemed to keep coming back, and he couldn’t forget Erica’s sobbing as she was taken away by the EMT’s. He had since learnt that she fractured a rib, and she would probably be out all of the season, which meant that they would need another girl flying, and none of the alternates were really up to the task.

He closed his computer and changed, sending a quick answer to Theo.

_ See you in 10 in front of the gym. _

* * *

  
  


Even though Theo could perfectly run alone now, they had kept their little routine of jogging together. It was simple, and it helped Liam take a breath from the rest of his days. They didn’t talk, not while running, but they always took the time to chat once they were done. Which is why, when Theo started sipping his bottle, and checking his phone, not paying him any attention, Liam knew something was not quite right.

“What’s up ?” He asked the other guy.

Theo made a noise, while probably typing a text. Then, he looked at Liam, his face garded. “We are going to need another flyer.”

“Yeah. And ?”

“There is this girl, in my old team… She’s good. Her name’s Tracy ?”

“Doesn’t ring a bell.”

“Well, I used to work with her, and she knows her shit. I’m trying to convince her to transfer.”

Liam looked at him, unable to find an answer. He struggled to get the words out. “You’re trying to convince a girl who is part of the reigning champions to join us ? Like… To leave everything behind, and come here ?”

Theo sipped some more water, before sighing. “It’s not like we have a lot of choices.”

“There is still Hayden ?”

Theo laughed at that. “Liam. Hayden is scared as hell. She is not a flyer, not a good one, and she looks like she is going to faint every single time she has to be thrown somewhere.”

Liam opened his mouth to defend the girl, but the memory of Hayden throwing up the year before, after being tossed a little too hard, came into his mind.

“... Yeah, maybe not Hayden then. But why would Tracy come here ? I mean, you coming here was already a big thing, and it was at the start of the year. She is training with our competiting team right now. Isn’t there a clause about this ?”

Theo looked at him, and pocketed his phone. He seemed to hesitate, and his face alternated between the two moods he seemed to have. The one he had on the mat, with the team, and the one he showed to Liam. 

“I… Fuck.”

He sighed, and bit his lips. “There are things I… I can’t tell you about right now.”

Liam nodded, his smile gone. “Yeah. I figured so.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you…” Theo explained, his voice soft, and his eyes suddenly worried. “You know that I trust you, right ?”

“You talk a lot about trust, Theo. Well, we all do. We need to trust each other, and all that shit.” Liam breathed out, not looking at him anymore. He tried to find the words to explain how he felt, but he had never been good with that. “I just think… You know, trusting someone is not only giving them a part of you they can break, right ? I mean, that’s what we do on the mat. But that’s not real life. Trusting someone is… Giving them keys to help you ?”

He didn’t want to look at Theo, because he knew that things could go both ways. There was always a chance that Theo would close down, and leave. Liam wanted to believe they were past that, he wanted to believe Lydia when she had looked puzzled at him saying they were not friends. He wanted to trust his guts, because he knew, deep inside, that things had changed since their first encounter. 

“I’m not asking you to tell me all your secrets or anything, but you know that I can…”

“I made a lot of mistakes.”

Liam froze, and slowly, turned his head to look at the other cheerleader. Theo had sat on the ground, and his face was only partially visible, as the streetlight was a few meters away. He was looking away from him, his arms on his knees, and Liam felt like a single noise, a single move from him could just break the sudden moment. So, he stayed silent, and didn’t move. Theo smiled at something, but his eyes were still on the city. 

“You know that Stiles hates me, right ?”

“Yeah.” Liam whispered.

“He has good reasons to. We were at the same high-school, in California, and we were in the same cheering club. He was pretty good, at the time, and I was an ass. I trained a lot, and we were kind of partners. I mean, we didn’t have the kind of relation you and I have, but we were friends, and we joked around a lot. My sister … My sister was part of the team too. And Stiles liked her a lot. Like… He had the biggest crush on her. And she was our flyer.”

Theo was still smiling, but the sadness in his voice was hard to ignore.

“Tara was amazing. She is a year older than I am, but she had to retake her senior year, so she was about to graduate with us. She was… She was so good. Peter even came to see her. There were lots of people, from different colleges, who came to see her. And we were her tossers. We didn’t do elite stunts like we do right now, but we still did pretty amazing things, and we had fun. I… I wasn’t really interested in school, or in anything other than cheer, and at the club, there were older guys I made friends with. I started ditching classes, and my coach there went really hard on my ass. I had a one week suspension, and I took it pretty badly. Didn’t train for a week, didn’t do anything except going out, and drinking. The day I came back to training, I had spent the night out. I was tired, and Stiles saw it. He confronted me about it, but I was a shitty high-schooler who wasn’t about to let anything come between me and my dream. I told him I was fine, and next thing we know… I didn’t catch her. It was my job to catch her, and I didn’t. She fell bad. Broke her neck.”

He seemed to breathe heavily for a second, and Liam let himself sit on the floor, next to him.

“She is fine. I mean, she will never be the same, and she had to stop cheering. It was… It was awful. She said she doesn’t blame me, but I did. And Stiled did too. Have you ever wondered how he ended up here ?”

Theo looked at him, and it was easy to see his eyes were glassy.

“Peter signed him up before the accident. He signed the three of us. Obviously, he had means to cancel Tara’s contract, and I had a good lawyer who got me out of my engagement, but Stiles had already signed, and Peter had no reason to fire him. Except Stiles has never been the same. He pretends not to know how to cheer, or tumble, but that’s just for show. He was as good as I was. He is just too traumatized by what happened. Because he tried to catch her, and she still fell. I am responsible for the whole thing, and I am the reason why my sister can’t even go on rollercoasters anymore, and I am also responsible for Stiles being completely terrified of tossing another girl in the air.”

Liam didn’t know what to say. Was there really anything to say ? Theo had just laid out his life in front of him, and it was awful. How was one supposed to react to that ? He looked at the guy, who seemed suddenly way older, as his eyes were still struggling to find an anchor. Without thinking, Liam linked their fingers, on the cold grass of the night. Theo froze for a second, but he tightened his grip on Liam’s hand, and he breathed out a ragged, emotional breath. 

“I went back to training, because Tara asked me to. She coached me from the side of the mat during the rest of my senior year. And I signed with the Silvercrosses because I didn’t want to be faced with Stiles every single day. The Silvercrosses… God, why do I make a mess of everything ? It’s not like the Wolfsbane, Liam. They are… Mean. You think Peter is hard ? At least he cares about his girls. There, they have eighty people competing for the twenty places. Enough girls to spare. I was partnered up with Tracy, even though I just wanted to be a tumbler. I didn’t want to do stunts, and I didn’t want to throw a girl in the air. Ever again. But Tracy was talented, and she was driven. She got me to do what she needed, even if it meant me having panic attacks after every single training. She knew about them, but she wanted me, because she thought I was the only one who cared. In the end, we won, but I couldn’t take it. I told her I had done it for her, and I wanted to leave. Then, Peter reached out to me, and told me he was looking for a tumbler, and I said, fine, let’s do this, but he promised me not to make me a base. And then…. And then, at that training, he paired me with Jackson. And I couldn’t… I couldn’t say no ? Because I wanted Lydia to be safe, even though I didn’t know her and… And I was still thinking about the Silvercrosses, and I thought all bases were shit, and I couldn’t let her fall, you know ? So, yeah, I didn’t say anything, and then, you took Jackson place and… God, you looked like you were about to throw up.”

He finally looked at Liam, and leaned his head on the side. It was easy to get lost in his eyes, as he finally delivered all the answers Liam didn’t know he needed.

“You looked just like me.”

Theo sighed, and Liam felt like a lot of things were still left unsaid. Still, he wasn’t ready to let Theo go. He moved on the side, to make their shoulders touch, and Theo laughed.

“God. Look at me. I’m a mess and I really didn’t need to tell…”

“I’m glad you did.” Liam said, and he let his head fall on Theo’s shoulder. It felt intimate, more than it had ever felt with anyone else. Theo smelled like the gym, and sweat, but he also smelled like something else, that Liam couldn’t describe. He just took a whif of it, and continued.

“I don’t think you’re a mess. I think you’re brave.”

“I’m not.”

“Shhh. Now I get to talk.”

He felt Theo laugh weakly against him, and he smiled himself.

“I think you’re incredible. And brave. Because you don’t care about yourself, you just care about others. But that’s also really stupid. If cheering is making you unhappy…”

“I like cheering.”

“If tossing Allison in the air means you get a panic attack at the end of the day…”

“I haven’t gotten any panic attack since I came here.” Theo said quietly. He moved his head a little, like he was making sure Liam was still next to him. “I… I know you care. I know you care as much as I do, and I know Boyd cares. When I say I trust you… It means I trust you not to do to me what I did to Stiles. I know the girls are safe with us, because you would rather die than let them fall. So, no, no panic attacks here.”

Liam smiled, and he felt something fuzzy in his stomach. It was cold around them, and the warmth from the run had long left their bodies, but he didn’t feel like leaving Theo there, like that. Not after all that he had learnt that night.

“You know, you call me Dynamite.”

“Yeah ?”

“You’re kind of right about that. I have IED. It’s… A disorder. A mental disorder. I get these angry moments, and… Teenage years were rough. I kept getting into fights, and I was forced to leave my first high school. I was playing Lacrosse, and I was really good, but I was way too aggressive. I had to see a therapist. And then, one day, I went to meet my friend Mason who was waiting for his boyfriend to finish practice. Cheerleading practice. And I was looking at these guys, running around, and jumping like gravity didn’t exist. It looked… It looked like they used all their energy to fly. I wanted to fly.”

“So… The jock became a cheerleader ?” Theo asked, with a smile on his voice.

“Yeah. I was not that good, but I had fire in me. And practicing made the anger better. I used it for something. I still use it sometimes.”

“Like when you did that one handspring for Peter because you were mad you fell on your ass ?”

Liam laughed. “Yeah. Like that.”

They kept silent for a while, and Theo hummed something under his breath. It was a slow melody, to which Liam didn’t know the words, but it was soothing. He closed his eyes, and felt Theo’s head on top of his, both their bodies so close to each other, and their hands now between their thighs. He didn’t know how long it lasted, but when he opened his eyes, he felt a shiver down his spine.

“We should…”

“Yeah.” Theo said, softly, as Liam lifted his head. He didn’t expect their faces to be so close, and he didn’t move as Theo frowned a little, before brushing some of Liam’s messy hair away from his face with his free hand. It felt natural, and Liam didn’t want the moment to stop. Theo looked at him for a while, and there were so many things happening in his eyes that Liam had no idea what he was thinking about.

“I trust you.” He finally said, and Theo’s face lightened up, a small smile on his face.

“I trust you too.” He answered, before bringing their foreheads together. It felt like a promise, like a declaration, and Liam smiled. He felt Theo’s breath, so close, and he wondered if it felt just as good to kiss him. The idea came to his mind naturally, just like he had let his instinct figure out how to comfort him. He liked that guy. He liked him a lot. He wouldn’t mind spending more time with him, and he couldn’t help but feel his chest warm up every single time Theo made a move to get closer to him. Still, Theo didn’t move, still looking into his eyes, and he wondered if this was the moment. If he had to be the one to make the next move. After all, Theo had been the one coming so close. Should him ? They stayed like this for a few seconds, before Theo bit his lips again, and sighed.

“We should really go.”

“Yeah, I’m freezing my ass off.”

And just like that, the moment was gone. Well, not totally, as Theo laughed, his head tilted, and Liam wondered what it felt like to hear this laugh against his chest, just like he had heard the smaller laugh earlier. 

Theo let go of his fingers, and he stood up, before offering his hand to Liam. 

“So… To new beginnings ?”

“Hell yeah.”

And if they walked hand in hand until they reached the gym, then, it was nobody’s business but heir own.

  
  



	3. The one with the new uniform

The next day, Liam was almost surprised to find Theo, looking like nothing had happened, and already running around the mat. He had his game face on, but when he looked at Liam, he offered him a small smile.

“Theo, Liam. Boyd ?” Peter called, from his office. The three boys looked at each other. “Come in here, please.”

They all walked in, quickly, and they had the surprise to see Lydia, in her street clothes, and looking at her nails. She looked more like a business woman than a cheerleader, and once again, Liam couldn’t help but wonder how such a petite woman could be so impressive. Peter didn’t look happy, but Lydia didn’t seem to mind. She looked at them with a satisfied smile.

“Hi guys.”

There were only two chairs, and as Lydia was already seated, they stayed on their feet, waiting for Peter, who sighed and took his head into his hands dramatically.

“What did I do to deserve this ? Seriously ? I’m the best trainer in the circuit, and I could have any cheerleader I want. And I chose you, Lydia.”

“You chose me because I’m the best.” She said, her chin held high. “I’m the  _ queen. _ ”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“And we lost last year. To Theo’s ex-team, if I might add. So I’m not sure you’re still the best around.”

That was a low blow, and something Liam would have never expected anyone to say to Peter, but Lydia didn’t flinch as he looked at her like he was about to fire her. Still, he didn’t say anything, and looked at the boys.

“We are down a flyer, and now this one, our Top Girl, says she won’t come back if she doesn’t have you as her bases.”

Liam felt his throat tighten. There was a world between what they did in the routine, and being the tossers for the Top Girl. 

“I just want to know I won’t end up like Erica, is that too much to ask ?” She said, looking at them.

Peter sighed.

“They would have to relearn the whole thing. Also, they don’t throw high enough.”

“Yet.” Theo said, and all heads turned to him. “We don’t throw high enough yet. With some training, I think it can be done.”

Lydia offered him a grateful smile.

“Exactly. Theo and Liam already train together. I’ll join them and we will practice. Boyd ?”

The guy smiled at the little woman, who had all their hearts in her pocket. “Always there to catch you, Lyds.”

“Great. See ? This is what I’m talking about.” Lydia said to Peter, almost nicely. “You might know your job, but I know my team. The twins can totally do Allison. They know her.”

“That still leaves us with a spot empty. We will need Danny to spot for the two other girls on the pyramid. Who is going to spot Allison ?”

“Danny.” Theo said. He looked at Peter, and took a step in his direction. “Danny will spot Allison. And for our second spotter on the pyramid, I think I know exactly who could do it.”

* * *

“Nope. No. No and no.”

Liam had never seen Stiles that angry. In fact, he had never seen Stiles really angry, except when girls fell, and even then, he usually dealt with it by helping. But right now, Stiles was almost shaking, his hands going from Peter, to Lydia, ignoring Theo who was looking like he would rather be anywhere else.

“Look…” Lydia tried, but Stiles pointed his finger at her, and his mouth was stuck in a thin line as he talked. “No, Lydia. No. You don’t get to talk me into it. There is a reason I’m on the side of the mat, and Peter knows it. Hell, even Theo knows it. I’m not going in. That’s a no.”

“You won’t be tossing anyone, Stiles.” Peter explained, but Stiles faced him. “Nope. You know I can’t do this. If you force me to do it, I’m leaving.”

“You want Lydia safe, right ?” Liam said, but he couldn’t help but remember Theo’s story, and he understood Stiles' reaction. In fact, he didn’t get why Theo had suggested the guy. Was he trying to hurt Stiles ? Liam didn’t think so, but still, this did not make sense to him.

“Yeah, I want Lydia safe, and that’s why I am not going in. Just find someone else. There are lots of good alternates. Hell, even ask Malia to do it. I don’t care.”

“You care.” Lydia said softly, and she tried to approach him, but he raised his hands in defense. “You care, Stiles, and it’s okay.”

The silence that answered her was painful, and long. Then, Stiles seemed to break.

“I can’t do it.”

“Yes, you can.” 

Everyone looked at Theo, who had a hand in his neck, and was looking at the floor. “Could we have a moment ?”

Lydia nodded, and gestured for Peter to leave the room with her. Liam looked at the two guys, and started walking to the door, but Theo interviened.

“You can stay, Liam. There is nothing you’ll hear that you don’t already know.”

And that seemed to reignite Stiles’ anger, as he looked at Liam, and then at Theo.

“You told him ? You told him the fucking truth ? Did you really, Theo ?” And then, he faced Liam, almost aggressive. “You know ? You know, and you are still okay with working with him ? Training with him ?”

Liam didn’t say anything. It was not his fight, and he knew Stiles’ anger was not really directed to him. Still, it hurt to see him seem so disappointed in him.

“Liam has nothing to do with it, and you know it. Stiles, you get to be angry. You get to be angry at me.”

“Hell yes I do !”

“But this ? You acting like an idiot and pretending not to be a really fucking good cheerleader ? It’s been going on for too long.” Theo sighed, and Liam wondered if he had enough fight in him for that conversation.

“I’m not acting, you dickhead. I don’t cheer anymore.”

“Don’t lie to me. I know you still train in your free time.”

Stiles opened his mouth, taken aback. “Lydia told you ?”

Liam took a step back, trying to understand the situation. He had no idea that Stiles was actually still training, and he wondered how many people knew about that.

“No, she didn’t... Look, she came one night, she heard the tumbling, and she called for you.”

Stiles seemed to take the answer into consideration, before spitting. “Still. I can train if it makes me happy. That doesn’t mean I owe it to anyone to go back on the mat.”

“No. But you owe it to yourself.”

“Bullshit, Theo. Bullshit. Not everyone is like you, okay ? Not everyone can just forget, and go back to this…”

“You think I forgot ?” Theo asked, his voice suddenly tense. “You think I don’t remember every single second of this day ? Every decision I made ? Every mistake ? I wake up almost every night feeling her feet struggling in my hand. I wake up trying to catch a falling ghost. So don’t tell me I forgot, because that’s not fair.”

“You want to talk about fair ? Really ? How about the fact that you left ? That you didn’t return my calls ? I needed to talk, Theo. I was fucking broken, and you left, and you didn’t care.”

“I couldn’t look at you !” Theo finally shouted, and Liam wanted nothing more than to leave the room. “I had messed up, and I was kicking myself for it, and I remembered how you had looked at me when the EMT…”

“I was angry, but I needed you ! I needed my training partner, I needed someone who understood how much Tara meant for me !”

“I messed up big time, Stiles ! I get it, and there is nothing I can do for what happened in the past. Nothing.” Theo said, suddenly softer, like he had given up on their fight. “I can’t change what happened, and I could apologize all I want, it won’t change the fact that I was a shitty brother, and a shitty friend.”

Stiles was still looking at him like he was restraining himself from using violence, but when he talked, his words were perfectly articulated. “Yes, you could. You could start by apologizing, Theo.”

Theo looked taken aback, but he found his footing quickly. He coughed a little, and looked at Liam, lost. But Stiles crossed his arm, and tapped his foot. “So ?”

“I’m sorry Stiles. I’m sorry for what I did, and for all the decisions that led to the accident. And I’m sorry that I didn’t call you back, that I basically left you. I’m sorry you had to suffer because I was an ass.”

Liam looked at Stiles, who seemed to hesitate, now. He still looked angry, but hearing these words apparently calmed him. When he talked, he wasn’t shouting anymore. “I’m glad you apologized. Still. It’s a shitty move to ask me to spot for Lydia. I just can’t, okay ?”

Theo nodded, and he sat on the desk behind him, clearly drained by the whole interraction. Liam looked at him, and promised himself that one day, he would force him to take a nap. Or just a break. Because all this exercise, and all these emotions mixed ? It was a miracle the guy was still standing.

“We will find someone else.” Liam finally said, with a smile, to Stiles. “I’m sure there are some alternate that can spot just well enough. You know everyone here. Who would you pick ?”

Stiles opened his mouth, but he closed it again, and Liam could see his mind at work behind his eyes. He seemed to hesitate, was about to give a name, but then muttered “No, this one is dumb”. Then, he thought about someone else, but sighed “He isn’t quick enough”. 

It took quite a long time, and Liam offered names, before Stiles sighed. 

“I can’t believe that I’m about to say that, but I guess Matt could do it ?”

* * *

“Okay, we’ll start slow. We’ll just take down one stage of the pyramid. Kira, Hayden, you will just stand on the ground instead of on the boys. We will work on Lydia finding her balance on your shoulders.”

Peter looked worried, as the girls took their position. Hayden’s place was still unsure, but there were not a lot of girls who were able to pull this, and she was trying to power it through. Liam and Theo stood in front of the two girls, as Boyd and Matt took their position.

“Obviously, once the girls will be on the pyramid, Lydia will need a lot more propulsion to brace herself.” Peter commented. “But right now, just try to make sure you don’t go too strong. Don’t forget she has to land on the girls, and the girls can’t take as much pressure as you do, right ? So, soft. But powerful.”

Liam nodded, and he smiled at Lydia, who was already clapping. She counted her steps, and they did the first throw, as she executed her skill in the air. Then, when she landed in their arms, they sent her flying again, this time toward the girls. She had already done the stunt a few times, with the twins, and she landed correctly. Hayden seemed to struggle with her weight for a second, but they stood strong. 

“Good. Now, Lydia is going to roll, and she will end up in her spotter’s hands”.

The girl did so. And thankfully, Boyd was there to catch her, because Matt didn’t seem to know where to go and ended up flailing in the opposite direction.

“... This is a disaster.” Stiles said, from the side of the mat, where he was pacing. “MATT ! WAKE UP BUDDY ! SOON YOU WILL HAVE GIRLS FLYING AT YOUR FACE AND YOU WILL NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT !”

* * *

“You want me to spot ?” Malia asked Peter, like she wasn’t sure she had understood.

“Yep. You’re not flying, so you can totally be there.”

“Girls don’t spot.” She answered, looking at Lydia.

“Girls spot in girls teams.” The flyer answered with a smile.

“That might be the reason why I’m not in a girl team.”

“Could you at least try ?” Theo asked, still eyeing Matt who looked defeated after his third fail in just as many tries. “We don’t have a lot of options there.”

But the girl raised her hands. “Nope. Not happening. I’m not strong enough, and I don’t have the technique.”

“Boyd will be the main spot.” Liam said. “You’ll just have to…”

“I am not taking the responsability. There is a reason I’m a tumbler, and not a stunter. Sorry, but it’s a no.”

And just like that, she left the group. Theo sighed, resigned, and looked at their group. “Is there anyone ? Anyone you trust ?”

Lydia looked at the side of the mat, and at the different alternates. Stiles walked to them. “Did you really ask Malia to spot ?”

“We’re trying to find a solution, there, Stiles.” Peter said, clearly annoyed. “I don’t recall asking you to judge…”

“I’m not…”

“Stiles” Lydia said.

“Could we…” Liam tried.

“Maybe…” Theo offered.

It was really going to be a long night.

* * *

“I’d rather spot alone than have Matt with me.” Boyd finally stated after a very animated discussion. 

“Fine. We can’t lose any more time.” Peter said. “You’ll spot Lydia, and I’ll ask Danny to come help you in case the other girls need it.”

Liam, who was laying on the floor, stood up, and shook the nerves from his body. In front of him, almost ten people were waiting for them to throw Lydia on top of the pyramide.

“You good ?” He asked her, and she offered him her perfect smile. 

“I’m perfect.”

He locked eyes with Theo, who was focused again, and Lydia started counting, as Kira and Hayden were sent on top of the boys, and prepared for Lydia. 

They threw her a first time in the air, and executed the skill perfectly. Once they had her in their arms again, they used more energy to throw her high enough to get to her position. But neither Theo, or Liam, were used to the exercise, and they might have added a little too much energy as the girl didn’t land on top, but passed the pyramid. Liam finched, and started running, but she was already in Boyd and Danny’s hands, breathing fast, on the other side.

“... Maybe we should practice the throw alone first.” She only said.

* * *

Theo didn’t speak to him. He wasn’t ignoring Liam, but also didn’t seem to care about the moment they had shared after their run, which was frustrating, because Liam wanted it to happen again. He couldn’t really come to Theo and tell him so, and starting from the next day, they would share their evening practices with Lydia and Boyd, which meant Theo would probably keep his attitude, just like he did during standard training.

So, as people were slowly leaving, Liam sat next to him on the bench. Theo was getting rid of the bandages of his hands, and he smiled at Liam.

“Hey.”

“Hey. That was quite the night.”

“Yep.”

Theo started rolling the used the bandages with care, and he didn’t seem to want to talk about it, so Liam took it in his stride. He let his head fall against the wall behind them. “I’m glad Stiles and you talked.”

“It wasn’t really a talk.” Theo muttered, but he kept massaging his anckles. 

“Yeah, but sometimes, things need to be said, and I think it was good. For the both of you. Am I wrong ?”

Theo frowned, and looked at him, a small smile growing on his lips.

“Are you asking if I am okay, Liam ?”

And Liam could feel his cheeks flushing, as he was ready to say that no, he didn’t care, and no, he wasn’t asking, but Theo’s eyes were bright. “I’m okay.” He said, his voice soft. Most of the people had left, except for a few that were rolling the mat. “I shouldn’t have told them to ask Stiles. It was a mistake.”

“Nah. It was a good idea”, Liam said, stretching his hands over his head, and he didn’t miss the quick flip Theo’s eyes made on his stomach. Oh. Interesting.

“It might be too soon, but I’m glad you told him the truth. I mean, I was surprised to learn he was training…”

“Yeah. Wasn’t my secret to tell.” Theo answered. “I really didn’t plan on using it.”

“So Lydia walked on you training ? And here I was, thinking I was the one…”

Theo sent his elbow into his ribs, and Liam acted like he was hurt, but they both laughed. The smile didn’t leave Theo’s face as he started changing his shoes. “Yep, she walked on me one night. Was pretty angry I was training alone. Remind me of someone…”

“You dick. I was just looking out for you.”

“You didn’t even like me back then.”

“What makes you think I like you now ?”

Theo arched an eyebrow, and smiled. “Fair point. But still. You didn’t like me back then, and that’s for sure.” He looked at his bag, puzzled.

“I still didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“I was a dick to you.” Theo said, rummaging through the bag.

“Still. I never wanted you to get hurt.”

And at that, Theo stopped, to slowly turn to him. He was frowning, but more like he was faced with a complicated problem than angry. “Why do you care so much ?” He asked Liam, slolwy.

“Hm ?”

“Why do you care so much ? About people. About the girls. About me ?”

“I don’t know ?”

Theo shook his head, bewildered. “I will never quite get you Liam Dunbar.”

* * *

“What are you doing there ?” Liam asked Stiles, who entered after Boyd and Lydia in the gym. It was late, but they had planned their first practice for that night. The other cheerleader only shrugged. “Didn’t have anywhere to be, and someone has to make sure Lydia is going to be okay so…”

“I don’t need you Stilinski…” The girl said, from where she was wrapping her hands.

“I love you too, Lydia.” He answered, sending her a kiss. Liam frowned, and looked at the other side of the mat, where Theo was already jogging. “Don’t you trust us ?”

Stiles followed his gaze, and his face tensed. “Do I… I trust you, Liam. And I trust Boyd. And Lydia. But Theo ? Don’t ask too much of me please.”

“We’ve been training with her for months.”

“You mostly trained with Allison these few weeks.”

“And we’ve never hurt one of the flyers.”

At the same time, both boys bended, to tap on the hardwood floor, a tradition every single time someone said anything that could be challenged by chance, or karma.

“You can’t blame me for being worried.” Stiles said, like they didn’t interrumpt themselves.

“I don’t blame you as long as you don’t start messing with his head.” Liam said, keeping an eye on Theo. He didn’t miss the way Stiles sighed. “What ?”

The other boy looked quickly at Theo, and then asked in a breath “Why do you care so much about him ? I love you man, and you’re nice as shit. You can do way better than Theo.”

Liam felt his body tense, and his eyes twitch. The anger was always there, burning in a small part of his stomach, and Stiles’ sentence was enough to wake it up.

“Don’t, Stiles. I know you have your disagreements, but could you please stop being such a dick ? We are here to train, and he needs his head in the game.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatev’’” Stiles sighed, before going to Boyd. Theo was almost done with his jogging, and he came closer to Liam. “So… I guess Stiles didn’t want us to break his little girlfriend.”

Liam frowned, looking at Lydia, her perfect nails shining under the lights, and at Stiles, who was wearing an old t-shirt, with something witty written on his chest. “Girlfriend ?”

Theo looked at him like he was blind. “Are you for real ? They just smell like sexual tension.”

“Oh ?”

Theo sighed, his head falling on Liam’s shoulder, and he laughed there for a while, hidden from the rest of the world. Liam had to keep himself from reaching, because he wanted to mess with his hair, but he knew there were people around, and having Theo being so open in front of them was already a miracle.

“What’s happening ?” Boyd asked, as he approached them.

“He is saying there is sexual tension between Lydia and Stiles.” Liam explained, as Theo stood up correctly again, a smile on the corner of his lips. “He is wrong, right ?”

Boyd looked at Liam, unimpressed. “You really are thickheaded, aren’t you ?”

Liam was about to answer, but Theo was quicker. “This guy couldn’t smell sexual tension even if it happened next to him.” 

Boyd smiled, as Lydia called them.

* * *

“So, we’ve got the new uniforms. Yes, yes, I know, you are all excited to wear them, but they can wait until we are done with training. No pyramid today, as Lydia is still working on the side with her boys. I want to see basket tosses, and tumbling. Then, some jumps. Are we all clear ? Break !”

It was getting harder and harder for Liam to read Theo. On one hand, he had been so close to him, the day before, his head against Liam’s shoulder as he laughed. On the other side, since they had arrived this morning, he hadn’t talked to Liam for anything else than making sure they were still on for the late training.

The basket tosses would never be easy, but there was a really big difference from where he started to where they were now. He knew Theo, and he knew Lydia. He finally understood that flyers were so picky about their tossers. He knew Lydia’s body better than he knew his own, and he was able to feel how she flexed, how she was on any given day, and to adapt. Theo moved flawlessly with him, and Boyd was just making sure nothing went bad. 

“Let’s do Scorpion, Toe Touch, Splint, and double down.” She said, and he wanted to smile at the fact that, a few months before, even a single one of these skill would have seem unatteignable. He looked at Theo, and they smiled at each other as they prepared their hands on Lydia’s waist. Boyd ordered the counts, which Lydia corrected, earning herself a sigh from Theo, and they got to it, sending her to the sky, and having her land in their arms again, and again. At the end, she jumped from the basket formed by them, and clapped. “Break !”

“... That actually looked good.” Peter said, grudgingly as he passed them by. “Go work on your tumbling. You’ll need strength for your additional training tonight.”

* * *

“Danny… Here is yours… Theo…” 

Liam was waiting in line to get his new uniform, and looking at the people already opening the small bags in which they were given. The girls were looking at the skirts, and the small tops, while some boys were complaining about the new shoes. 

“Liam.” 

He took his, and didn’t plan on staying too long, but Scott gestured for him to approach. Intrigued, he jogged to the medic, who smiled at him.

“So, how are you Liam ?”

“... Again ?”

Scott laughed, and offered him a fresh bottle of water. “I’m just checking in. Last time we talked, you were quite upset about Theo missing a practice.”

“Yeah… That was weeks ago.”

“And now, you are tossing for the Top Girl.”

Liam sighed, a little bit annoyed, but glad Scott still took time to make sure everyone was okay. “Yep. And it’s going well. I like this year.”

“Great. Do you want me to stick around for your evening practices ?”

Liam looked at Lydia, who was heading for the locker rooms, talking animately with Allison, and then at Boyd, who was kissing Erica’s head, as she was still coming to the practices to watch, even with her broken ribs. And then, his eyes met Theo, who was talking to Malia, a smirk on his face.

“Nah, I think I’m good. And we have Stiles, so…”

“Stiles is coming too ?” Scott seemed surprised. “That’s good, I guess. Do you want my number ? In case you need assistance ? I’m always on the campus. Usually, I medic for other sports teams on the nights.”

“That would be great, thanks.”

Scott went to get a piece of paper, and Liam waited as the medic talked to Peter about something. People were slowly leaving the gym, and before soon, he was alone. Scott offered him an apologetic smile as he came back.

“Sorry, Peter needed me. Here is my personal cell phone. If anything happens, just call me.”

“Sure. Have a great day, Scott.”

Liam almost ran to the locker rooms, checking his watch. He had a class in less than an hour, and he hopped into the - thankfully - single shower, letting the hot water massage his back. In the mirror, he noticed the growing bruise on his shoulder. It was almost like he could see the form of Lydia’s foot there. He left the shower, the towel around his waist, and opened his locker. It was a mess of things, changing clothes, creams, oinments and bandages, but he retrieved fresh underwear, and some deodorant. When he turned to go back to the mirror, he jumped at the sight of Theo.

Theo, who was now wearing the new uniform. For guys, it was black sweatpants, with small red embroideries, and some shining pieces, with a very red shirt, Wolfsbane written on it. And between his wet hair, and the uniform hugging his body in all the right places, Theo looked really, really good. Liam felt his heart beating faster.

“You scared me to death.”

“Sorry.” Theo said, leaning against one of the lockers, in a nonchalant pause. “I just wanted to try them on. Do you think they fit ?”

Liam only raised an eyebrow. Did they… Did they fit ? Was Theo mocking him ?

Oh no. Had Theo noticed how Liam kept looking at him ? Was he trying to teach him a lesson. ?

“It looks good”, he said, struggling to swallow, before turning to face his fresh clothes. “You should go. Don’t you have class ?”

He only heard Theo sighed. “Seriously ?”

“What ?” Liam snapped, looking at him again. “What do you want me to say, Theo ? Yes, they fit. Yes, you look hot, but you would probably look hot wearing a potato sack. I don’t…”

“You think I’m hot ?” Theo asked, suddenly interested again, and if the smirk was back, his tone was not mocking. It was smoother, just like it had been on the phone, when he had talked about them being partners. Just like they had been so close, and breathing each other’s air. Just like he had laughed at Liam not seing the sexual tension.

Oh.

“Are you hitting on me ?” He asked, the words leaving his mouth too quickly. And Theo looked at him, tilting his head, and looking at him with a mix of fondness and annoyance.

“Am I… Liam. I have been hitting on you for months.”

“Oh.” 

He tried to remember, tried to pinpoint when exactly Theo had tried to flirt with him, but he couldn’t find a precise memory. He didn’t see Theo becoming more stone faced with every single passing second.

“Yep. Sorry. I should leave…”

Theo was already walking to the door, but Liam was fast enough to grab his arm, and bring the other guy in front of him. Theo didn’t look at him, his eyes darting on the lockers behind Liam.

“When… How ?”

“Do we need to have this conversation ? I get it, you are not interested. Don’t worry, that’s not…”

“I didn’t say I was not interested !” Liam said. “Theo, look at me. Please.”

The other cheerleader sighed, but did as he was told, and Liam offered him a sincere smile. “I’m really thickheaded, so bear with me ?”

Theo shook his head. “Do you think I go around joking with everyone ? Or like, spend hours teaching people tricks ? What about the time I litterally throw up my life in front of you ? Do you think I do that with everyone ?”

Liam thought about it for a second, and he wished he had taken the time to change, because having that conversation while being in a towel was not comfortable.

“I hope you don’t.” He finally said to Theo. “I know that’s selfish, but I hope I’m the only one.”

“Yeah. Didn’t plan on this happening though.”

“Does it matter ?” And Liam could feel his stomach burning, as he took one more step to flush his naked chest against the whole new uniform Theo was wearing. “I kinda like you.”

Theo stayed silent for a second. “You kinda like me ?”

“Yeah. Kinda a lot. Even though you’re like all hot, and then cold, and impossible to read. I… I trust you.”

Theo laughed at that, his cheeks a little too red. “Is this your way of saying you want me ?”

Liam raised his eyes. “And you say I’m the one who is dense”. 

Before Theo had time to answer, Liam brought their lips together in a small kiss, taking his time to savor the moment. One of his hands landed on Theo’s chest, and he could feel arms against him, and hands hot against his back. Theo kissed him back, and Liam could feel his smile against his lips.

“Stop laughing”, he said, before kissing Theo more heatedly. Theo made him shudder as the fingers against his skin became rougher, bringing Liam on the tip of his toes. When he looked at Theo’s face again, he wondered why he hadn’t done that before. It felt like something so normal, and so good. Why had he been an idiot about all of this ?

“What are you thinking about ?” Theo asked, his breath against Liam’s lips, like he was reluctant to let go.

“How many times we could have done that.”

Theo kissed away his smile, and when his tongue started darting against Liam’s lips, he had no choice but to drown a little bit more. But he didn’t miss Theo’s next sentence. “And all it took was a new uniform.”

“I don’t really care for the uniform. I do care for the guy in it, though.”

“Smooth, Liam. Smooth.”

But whatever Theo said, Liam didn’t care. He was just too happy to kiss him, and when he pushed him against the wall, Theo didn’t seem to mind either.


	4. The one with Liam's IED

Theo kissed him one last time, in front of the gym, before they each went their way, to their classes. Liam couldn’t help but smile, thinking about what had happened, and what could happen in the future. He saw a few of his teammates in the hallways, and he was happy to chat with them. Some were worried about Lydia, and all the changes that had been made, and some others were just offering words of encouragement.

In the afternoon, he had two other classes, and then, he tried to do his homework. He was tempted to send a text to Theo, but it felt too soon, and he didn’t want to scare him away. How was he supposed to tell him that he wanted a do-over of the morning, preferably multiple times ?

He ate quickly at his dorm dinner room, and then got ready for the special training they were going to have with Lydia. He looked by the window, and was not surprised to see the lights already on. He decided not to wait, and to just go start his warm-up.

Theo was already there, doing jumping exercises, and Liam leaned against the wall to watch him. He could still remember how it had felt, seing Theo do every single exercise perfectly and hating him for it, at the start of the year, but now ? Now, every time he looked at the guy, he couldn’t believe his luck. He couldn’t believe Theo had chosen to open up to him, had gotten interested in him, and had tried to make Liam notice it.

Finally, Theo stopped jumping, and he started stretching, but his voice raised in the emptiness of the gym. “You can start your warm up next to me, Liam.”

His voice had lost all the warmth he showed when they had left each other, hours before, and Liam tried not to ask him why. Still, as he started working on his abs, he couldn’t help but notice Theo wasn’t looking at him.

“Is everything okay ?” He finally asked, stretching his heel. Theo did a double take at him, his game face still on. “Yeah ?”

“You look… Tense.”

“I look just the way I look before training, Liam.” But Theo must have heard the harshness in his own voice, as he stopped his exercise, and rolled on his back, so that his head was closer to Liam. “Sorry… I should have told you. I don’t feel comfortable bringing what we have, here. We need to focus, and it’s probably for the best if we try to keep things separated you know ?”

Liam felt a weight in his stomach. He hadn’t noticed how his mind had already imagined Theo and him, walking hand in hand, and showing their happiness around.

“Do you…” He tried, but shook his head. “Don’t you want to be with me ?” And Theo whined at that. “Fuck. Of course I want to be with you. It’s just… Our job is to take care of Lydia, right ? Well, if I don’t keep my head in the game, the only thing I’ll be thinking about is you. I don’t want to let the girl fall just because I’m thinking about kissing you.”

“You want to kiss me.” Liam said, with a smile, and Theo laughed softly. “Yeah. Like, a lot. And we’ll get there. Let’s just focus on the training and…” Liam didn’t leave him time to react, and captured Theo’s lips quickly, taking his chance, as Theo was still looking at him, laying on the mat. The kiss was quick, and it was more of a reassurance for Liam. “That one was for luck. Also, I can’t believe you’re afraid you won’t be able to resist me…”

“Don’t get over your head, Dynamite”.

* * *

Liam looked at the bench, where Erica was seated, a book on her lap. Boyd seemed to see his face, because he explained “If I have to train every night with you, I thought you wouldn’t mind having her here.”

Liam smiled at the girl, and walked to her. “Hey, there. How are you feeling ?”

She looked at him, eyes heavy with eyeliner, her face bored. “I need a new set of ribs, but apart from that, I am fine. At least I was, until I learnt that you were going to keep my man from me. Every night.”

“Be nice, Erica” Stiles said, entering the place, but he kissed her cheek a few seconds later. “I miss seing your beautiful face on that mat.”

“I don’t miss you shouting at me.” She clearly lied, her eyes amuzed. “I can’t wait to go back.” 

“You… You plan on coming back ?” Liam asked, trying to do the maths. She would be out for two more months, at least, and there was no way she could make mat with less than a month of training after. She looked at him, a smile on her red lips. “I am a professional, Liam. This sucks, but I know my body. I know I don’t need three months.”

“She will take the time she needs, and by that, I mean that we will wait for the doctor opinion, right Erica ?” Boyd said, like it was an argument he had already had more than a few times.

“Sure.” She said, smiling, before whispering to Liam “I’ll have the doctor say whatever I want.”

He laughed at that, before leaving her with Stiles. Boyd was already warming up, and he decided he should do the same.

“How do you do it ?” He asked the man, who was jogging next to him.

“Hmmm ?”

“How do you deal with her being a flyer ? And… Like… You don’t even spot her.”

Boyd sighed, and looked quickly at the girl on the bench, before answering. “I don’t deal with it. That’s why I don’t spot her. It would be more dangerous having me there. I would probably hurt other people just to make sure she doesn’t hit the floor.”

Liam didn’t say anything, but his gaze lingered on Theo. “Yeah. Being afraid sucks.”

* * *

“And push ! Push ! Good. Push ! Liam, more hands. Push ! Lydia, you look great ! Push !”

Theo and Liam kept throwing the girl higher and higher, trying to find the perfect amount of impulsion they would need to send her to the top of the pyramid. She kept falling back into their basket, her body slamming into their arms, before leaving again. Stiles was just in front of them, and Erica had walked to the side of the mat, silent. 

“Yes.” Stiles said, as the girl kept being sent higher. “I think that’s the correct height. Again !” 

Liam didn’t say anything about his arms burning from the effort, and Theo’s face was so tense that he was sure he was not the only one powering through. 

“Again ! YES ! OUCH. BOYD SPOT. SPOT. LIAM YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW HER. YES. LIKE THAT. LOOKS GREAT.”

“Back in two.” Boyd announced, and Liam felt relief coursing through his veins, as they welcomed Lydia into the basket, and let her stand on her own.

“Did you get it ?” She asked her two tossers, perfectly still, like she hadn’t been moved around the air like a ragged doll for a whole minute.

Liam nodded, and stretched his shoulders. “I think we got this.”

* * *

“FIVE. SIX. SEVEN AND ONE.” Peter was clapping the tempo in front of them, and Liam did his best to control the next throw, keeping Lydia as long as possible in his arm, before she flew at the top of the pyramid. Her hands landed on Hayden, and Kira thrust out her feet, as they all held their breath.

“TWO.”

“YES LYDIA ! YES GIRLS !”

“THREE.”

“YOU DOING AMAZING. HOLD HER GIRLS. HOLD.”

“FOUR”

“SMILE. HOLD. HOLD. KEEP IT UP.”

“And five.”

With a small flexion of her body, Lydia left her perch, to fall safely into Boyd and Danny’s arms.

Liam felt Theo’s arm around his shoulder as they both shouted their happiness. This was it. They finally made it. They had sent her on the top, and she had stayed there. They made sure Hayden and Kira were on the ground too before they went to hug her, but Stiles was already there, jumping around the flyer.

“THAT WAS AMAZING. LYDIA YOU ARE AMAZING. YOU LOOK SO FLAWLESS. I COULD KISS YOU RIGHT NOW !”

“Don’t…” She tried, but he was quicker and pecked her cheek, before running to Hayden and hugging her. 

“You did good.” Lydia said to her tossers, while wiping her cheek and Liam smiled at her. But Peter was soon next to them, and his eyes were shining like they were everytime he had a new idea.

“You know what would be great Lydia ?” He asked, and she turned to him, expectantly. “If we could have a few unassisted stunts in the routine. That would make up for the lack of strength in that pyramid.”

Unassisted stunts. In other words, someone holding a girl’s foot, alone, and her performing whatever skills she tried. Obviously, a second boy would be spotting, but the goal was not to intervene. 

“I don’t think either Liam or Theo…” She said, slowly, her mind racing, and her competitiveness taking the upper-hand. But Peter smiled at her.

“We have Boyd.”

* * *

“You want me to do what ?” Boyd asked, looking at Lydia like she was crazy. 

“I want you to keep my foot in the air while I do a full Arabian.”

“Lydia, that’s insane.”

“Yep. But imagine the points !”

“Unassisted. Insane.”

“We will have a spotter. We just need to make sure we don’t need him.”

Boyd sighed, and looked at the rest of the group. “Who will spot for that ?”

“I will.” Theo said, without looking at Liam. “I have already done it before and I can give you pointers...”

“No.” Stiles said, his voice cold. “Theo can’t be the only spotter.”

“Stiles.” Lydia tried, but he shushed her up, and she looked personally attacked.

“I’m sorry, but I won’t let you do this. Unassisted stunts are hard enough, you need a good spotter.”

“You know we don’t have like… A hidden reserve of spotters, right ?” Liam tried. “We can’t have more than twenty people on the mat, so we need to use those who are already there.” 

Stiles turned to face him. “Then you do it Liam. I don’t care. But not Theo.”

Liam was about to reply, but Theo gestured for him not too. “Okay. Not me then.” 

And the way Theo looked, like a kicked puppy, well, it didn’t sit well with Liam. He understood that their history made Stiles wary of Theo, but he also knew that, from an unbiased point of view, Theo was perfectly able to fill the position. Seeing Theo back up so quickly every single time Stiles opened his mouth was making him uneasy. 

“So, Liam ?” Boyd asked, clearly able to feel the tension between the different men in the group.

He couldn’t stop looking at Theo, and the memories of all the times he had just taken Stiles’ shit without saying anything seemed to come back into Liam’s mind, making his stomach turn. It was not unfair, because he knew Theo, and he also knew that the man was never himself when other people were around. It was always the same dance. Theo would say something, Stiles would shut him down, and Theo would not try to resist. It was unfair, he kept on thinking. And no one ever said anything.

“No.” Liam answered, his voice still unsure. “No, I’m not doing it, because we all know that it should be Theo. He has more experience, and he has already done this kind of thing.”

“Theo…” Stiles started, ready to argue, but Liam cut him, still thinking about all the times they had let Stiles run his show. “No, Stiles. I get it, okay ? I get that you still don’t trust him, and I’m not asking you to. But right now, you are thinking with your heart, not with your head. If you really want Lydia safe, you will let Theo spot her.”

A long silence answered him, and he was surprised to hear Theo speak first.

“Let it go, Liam. Stiles is right.”

Liam turned to face him, flabbergasted. Theo was, once again, retreating behind his cold-stone face, and he wasn’t looking anyone in the eyes. “You should try it. I’ll teach you, and Stiles will coach you.”

And that made Liam’s blood boil. Because he knew Theo, and he knew this did not make sense. He wanted to pull him by the shoulders, and shake him away from the stance he aways kept when Stiles was around.

“No. God, the both of you…” He looked at Stiles, and then at Theo, and he didn’t think about checking his emotions before speaking. “You.” He said to Stiles, and for once, the other cheerleader didn’t seem to know how to react. “You’re unfair to Theo. He hasn’t done anything wrong since joining this team, and you are still pushing something that happened long ago, and that he has already suffered for, in his face, every single time he tries to help. You don’t trust him, fine. Shut your mouth and let us do it. No one is asking you to do anything, except just… Shut up.” 

“Liam…” Lydia said.

“And you.” He faced Theo, who was now biting his lips. “You better wake up soon, and stand for yourself. Yes, you messed up once. Yes, you feel like Stiles can say whatever he wants, but let me tell you… If you don’t stand up for yourself, no one is going to do it for you.”

He felt the adrenaline kick in, and it was not the good sort. It was anger-fueled, and he couldn’t control it. He should have tried to extract himself for the situation, like he had been told to, but now, he was just angry at all of them. 

“You.” He said, talking to Lydia. “Theo has never failed you, and still, you let Stiles berate him like he deserves it. I don’t know what you have been told, but it doesn’t matter. If you can’t even stand for your tosser, then how can you say you trust him ?”

She opened her mouth, but he didn’t want to hear her answer. In fact, he didn’t want to hear anyone. He took a step back, looked at them one last time, and turned on his heels to go to the locker room. He didn’t even take a shower, or change. He grabbed his things, and went to his room. There, he paced for awhile, trying to keep the anger inside, but letting go, only for a few seconds, made it really hard to control. 

“Fuck.”

He took his hoodie, and his running shoes, and decided to leave. 

* * *

He ran for a long time, making sure to avoid the gym area, or any area where team members could be. He hadn’t taken his phone, and he had no idea how long he had been out. When he finally felt like he had ran the anger away, and he could only feel the cold in his bones, he jogged in the direction of his dorm. He was surprised to see someone sitting alone on the stairs in front of the building. Coming closer, it was impossible to miss the Wolfsbane jacket, and Theo’s messy hair.

Oh. Liam had really made a scene. And he had talked about Tara in front of Boyd and Lydia. What did he say exactly ? He couldn’t remember.

Theo was looking at his phone, and he did a double take when he saw Liam coming. It was easy to see how his shoulders went from tense, to relieved, as he brought the phone to his ear.

“Lydia ? Yeah, I got him. Can you tell the others ? Thanks.”

_ I got him. Tell the others. _

Had they been looking for him ?

He didn’t get time to ask the question, as Theo just reached for him, and hugged him with a new found strength. Liam returned the hug, still dubious, but Theo whispered in his ear “Hey.”

“... Hey.”

“You left… You were so angry. And then you didn’t pick up your phone, and you were nowhere to be found. You scared me, Liam.”

“Oh.”

He had thought Theo would be angry at him, for confronting all their problems in front of Lydia and Boyd, and he had never thought they would actually care for him enough to get upset at his disappearance. Theo didn’t seem to want to let go, so Liam adjusted his position to rest his head against his neck.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered.

Theo laughed weakly at that, his hands still roaming against Liam’s back. “Yeah. I didn’t want to panic, but then I thought, you looked so mad, and with what you told me… I didn’t tell the others but...”

“I just went for a run. I needed to get the anger out.”

“Yeah.”

Theo finally detached himself enough for Liam to see his face, and it was clear the day had been too long. “Let’s go inside ?” Liam offered. “I need a shower. I’m all sweaty. You are going to smell so bad.”

“I don’t really care.” Theo only said, taking his hand and following him into the dorm. Liam felt weird, as he had never invited people inside his small bedroom, but he felt like he couldn’t let go of Theo’s hand, and he actually welcomed the weight of his body against his as he showed him the room. “Yep, that’s where I live. It’s not big, but…”

“It’s great.” Theo said, still holding him. Liam walked to the bed, and Theo sat next to him, looking at the posters on the wall. They didn’t say anything first, but then, Theo whispered.

“I think we need to talk about it. Right ?”

Liam nodded slowly, feeling the ghost of anger in his guts. Still, Theo must not have been completely mad, because he took Liam’s hand, and laced their fingers.

“You lashed out, Liam.”

“Yeah.” He sighed. “I know. I should probably say sorry…”

“Yep. Lydia is expecting a very long and proper apology. Not that you were wrong, but she didn’t like your tone.”

“She doesn’t think I was wrong ?”

Theo smiled at him, a small tired smile that wasn’t enough to reach his eyes. “Nah, you were mostly right about… About all the things you said. But let’s just say there are other ways to deal with this kind of situation ?”

“Yeah. I was a dick.”

“You were.”

“Oh god.” Liam hid his face in his hands. “Stiles is going to hate me.”

“Not sure about that. He was the one who told me to wait for you here. I had no idea which building you lived in so...”

“Doesn’t mean he isn’t going to kill me.”

“He likes you. And he knows you were talking from the heart.”

“Still. I didn’t…” 

“What is done is done. And you were right for calling me out. I almost let Stiles convince me to make a decision that was biased. I should have fought for Lydia, not just let him decide for us.”

“I hate how he makes you feel bad.” Liam admitted. “You just don’t look like yourself, or act normal when he is there. It’s like… You don’t care about anything else than his approval.”

“Hm.” Theo said, before taking one of Liam’s pillows. “I still need time. And he needs time too.”

“We don’t have time. Daytona is in three months.”

“Don’t remind me.” Theo said, his voice sleepy, and when Liam looked at him, he was blinking slowly. “Didn’t you have to take a shower ?”

“Yeah.” Liam forced himself to stand up. “Wait… Wait for me ?”

“Sure.” Theo said, losing the shoes, and climbing completely on the bed. “I don’t plan on moving soon.”

When Liam came back from his shower, he was not surprised to see that Theo had fallen asleep, still dressed in his training outfit, one of his arms falling lazily from the bed. He smiled at the view, and pondered for a second with the idea of waking him. But he had looked so tired, and they had been working so hard, that he didn’t feel like ruining any second of sleep the other boy could get. He put on his night clothes quickly, and slithered between Theo, and the wall, claiming the other pillow. His movements seemed to disturb Theo for a second, as he grumbled something, and turned, his arm landing around Liam’s waist. He stopped moving, but Theo was fast asleep again, his breathing steady, and his face blank. Liam didn’t mind the contact, and he closed his eyes, letting Theo’s breathing calm him down.

* * *

Liam was woken up by a thumb playing against the skin of his neck, and he had to blink a few times to remember why there was someone in his bed. Theo looked peaceful, a small smile on his lips, as he let his hand fall on Liam’s collarbone. 

“Hey.”

“Hi.” Liam breathed out, as a shiver ran down his spine from the contact. “Not a bad way to wake up.”

“Hm. I wished I could let you sleep, but we have training in half an hour.”

Liam nodded, and started stretching his back to wake up. It wasn’t easy, as the bed was small, and Theo was close to him, but he made it work. Still, he didn’t feel like moving. 

“We could ditch.”

Theo laughed at that, and he sat on the bed, before yawning.

“Yeah. I’m sure Peter will love this one. Sorry, we were too busy in Liam’s bed…”

Liam felt himself blushing, and Theo laughed. “You’re really, really cute.”

“And you’re like… So beautiful.” Liam said without thinking about it, because there was no way someone could look at Theo, his eyes still sleepy, and his hair all messy, the imprint of the pillow on his cheek, and not think that he was probably the most precious thing they had ever seen.

“Stop flirting with me or there is no way we’re leaving this room in time.” Theo said, his eyes darker, just like they had been in the locker room.

“I don’t think I’d mind.” Liam smiled, before cupping Theo’s jaw, kissing him slowly. 

“Liam…” Theo said, against his lips.

“Half an hour is a lot of time.” He answered, before pushing Theo so he was laying again.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Half an hour was not a lot of time, Liam discovered, as they were all trying to change quickly in the locker room. They could hear people already running around the mat.

“Peter is going to kill us.” Liam stated, as he was lacing his shoes. “Oh, god, he is really going to kill us. I always thought he had a serial killer vibe. Maybe that’s why he needs forty people in his team. He just slowly kills the ones he doesn’t like through the year.”

“Shut up and hurry.” Theo said, putting on his shirt. Thankfully, he had a spare one there, because Liam didn’t want anyone to see him and ask about the fact that he was still wearing the same clothes as the day before.

When they entered the room, they joined the people jogging around the mat, keeping their heads down. Liam thought they would be fine, until Boyd came next to them, a smirk on his face.

“Late, lovebirds ?”

“Shut up.” They both said at the same time, and Boyd laughed, picking up his pace. Theo went after him, and Liam ran alone for a while. His legs were hurting from the day before, but he was glad he didn’t feel angry anymore. 

“So…” He suddenly heard, coming from his right. He turned, and paled, as Stiles was adapting his stride to match Liam’s.

“Hey.” He said, remembering everything he had said the day before. “Look, Stiles, I’m…”

“Yeah, you’re sorry. I know.”

Liam didn’t know what to answer to that, so he kept quiet, as Stiles sighed. “I get it. I’m… I have been a dick. But it’s not… It’s not like I can help it, okay ? I just…”

“You can’t trust him.” Liam said, looking at where Theo was now talking with Malia. 

“Yeah. But I shouldn’t… I shouldn’t try to…”

“It’s okay, Stiles. You have your feelings, he has his feelings, I have my feelings. We just need to find a way to make it work.” Liam looked quickly at Stiles’ face, before adding “Do you really want  _ me _ to spot for Lydia ?”

“... No.”

“Then what are we going to do ? Because right now, we don’t have a second spotter for the pyramid, and we don’t have a spotter for this insane non-assisted stunt. It’s like we are running in more and more problems and…”

“Theo will spot her for the stunt.” 

Liam had to do a double-take at that. “He will ?”

“Yeah. I mean, I can’t stand the idea, but Lydia is determined about it. And… Like you said, he has experience.” Stiles bumped his shoulder, and offered him a friendly smile. “You made quite a scene yesterday. After you left, Lydia was… Kind of lost. We had a big bad talk. She wasn’t happy about you calling her out, but you were right. She lets things slide with me, just like everyone. It’s time I stop playing the victim here.”

Liam looked at him, and surprise must have been written all over his face, because Stiles laughed. “I know, I know. I can’t promise to be nice to Theo, but I can try to stop doubting every decision he makes. Can you try to accept that ?”

“Yeah.” Liam said, still jogging. “Yeah, I can try that.”

* * *

Liam knew he had to talk to Lydia, and before they started the tosses, because he didn’t feel comfortable working with her if she was angry at him. So, when he saw her start her abs exercises on the side of the mat, he walked to her. She didn’t look at him, but he sat next to the girl, and started stretching.

“Are you gonna apologize or are we going to stay in this uncomfortable silence way longer than necessary ?” She asked, after a minute.

“I’m sorry.”

“Good. Don’t do this again. If you have something to say to me, you find me, and we deal with it, just the two of us. Do you understand ?”

“Yes,  _ queen _ .”

“Good. Now, help me stretch my leg.”

And just like that, Lydia was smiling at him again.

* * *

“Stop resisting !” Stiles said, as he was pushing Lydia’s legs until it was in front of her face. 

“I’m not ! My hamstring’s just tightening up !”

“We will need to work on that.”

“We, we… I’m the one who is about to pop my hip out !”

Liam looked at the both of them, bantering on the mat, and he smiled. He almost didn’t see Theo jogging to him. “So ?”

“I think we are good.”

* * *

The music was blasting, and Liam ended his tumbling line just in time for Jackson to jump in front of him. He tried to keep smiling, as he took a step back, and waited for Malia to pass him by. Lydia appeared in front of him, and Theo joined them just in time for Lydia to be tossed over them, and she executed her skill perfectly. 

“No, no, no !” Peter shouted, from where he was seated with the ipad. Lydia “This is ridiculous ! Guys, every stunt needs to hit. Hit ! We don’t have room for any mistake. Especially on something as simple as a basket toss ! Hayden ! You need to get over yourself, or I’ll switch you. Brett, if you are not sure to hit your line, then don’t go for the hard jump. Be smart, people ! Smart ! Is that too much to ask ? Am I being unreasonable here ?”

“No, coach.” They all said, and Liam looked at the other side of the mat, where Erica was talking to a crying Hayden. 

“From the beginning !”

* * *

“What the heck is Malia doing here ?” Liam asked Theo, as they entered the gym that night. 

“Oh. She is going to train Allison. Her tumbling is not getting better.”

“Malia wants to train someone ? She will actually talk to… What is happening ?”

Theo shrugged. “Allison told Lydia she needed help, and Lydia said she could come, and I might be able to help her. But I can’t, because I have to spot for this freaking stunt so… I kind of asked Malia ?”

Liam looked at him, and he was surprised how different Theo looked, from the first time they had talked. He had been so haughty this day, so closed off to everyone. And now, he was the one orchestrating a whole evening training, and asking people to help.

“It’s a really good idea.” Liam said, softly. He tried to find Theo’s eyes, as he smiled. “I’m glad you asked her.”

* * *

“Okay. Is everyone ready ?” Stiles asked, as Lydia stood in front of Boyd, and Theo waited behind them. “Do not drop my girl, Boyd.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Liam, can you spot in front, just in case ?”

“Sure.”

“Theo…”

There was a silence, and everyone tensed for a second, before Stiles sighed. “Just try not too happy if she falls into your arms.”

And just like that, the tension left the group.

“And one… Two…” 

Liam looked at Lydia, who had now her feet secured into Boyd’s extanded hands. The whole stunt looked precarious, but her face was sure. 

“HOLD ! GOOD ! WE ARE DOING THIS. HOLD, BOYD. YOU AMAZING MAN. LYDIA, MY QUEEN…”

Lydia hopped into only one foot, and started bringing the other closer to her face, until her legs were aligned in a perfect line. Behind them, Theo was moving, his hands open, ready to jump in.

“OH MY GOD. GOOD. PERFECT. LYDIA YOU’RE SO GOOD. THEO, SPOT ! BOYD, HOLD, HOLD THAT GIRL.”

Liam saw the exact moment Lydia lost her balance, because her face flinched for a second, and she immediately flexed her knees, letting go and preparing for the fall. He saw her drop, as Boyd tried to grab her legs. A few shouts and a loud noise broke the calm of the gym, and when he blinked again, he was faced with both Theo and... Stiles holding Lydia’s body, her feet dangling a few centimeters from the ground. 

“... That hurt.” She whispered, as the boys slowly lowered her to the ground. “Oh god, I can’t breathe.”

“You’re okay”, Stiles quickly said, and Liam suddenly remembered that the guy was not supposed to be catching anyone. He hadn’t even seen him run to the scene, or move, but apparently, he had been at the right place at the right time. “Let’s get her on the floor”

Theo didn’t say anything, as they laid her down. Boyd was holding his wrist, wincing, but he was still looking at the flyer, and at Stiles, who was hovering over her.

“Lydia, did you hurt your neck ?”

“No. Just… I need a second.”

They all waited in silence, as she breathed in and out a few times. “Okay”, she said weakly. “I think I just got the air punched out of me.”

“Do I need to call Scott ?” Liam asked, walking to her. 

“No. Nothing broken.”

“He could still check you in.” Stiles said, while helping her sit down. “I’m sorry. It’s probably my fault. My arms…”

“You caught me, you idiot.” Lydia said with a puff. “Stop apologizing for a job well done.”

Liam could see Stiles was starting to shake, as what had happened probably hit him. “I think we need a break”, he said, gesturing for the others to leave Stiles and Lydia alone. It only occured to him to check on Theo then. He looked at him, and tried to smile. “You good ?”

The other cheerleader just sighed. “I really don’t like that stunt.”

“You got her safe.”

“I probably wouldn’t have if Stiles hadn’t jumped in.”

“I’m sure she would be fine.” Liam said, with confidence, while looking at the two people still on the mat. “I didn’t even see him coming. He is really good.” 

“Yeah. Such a shame I put an end to his career.” Theo answered bitterly. 

“I didn’t say…”

“It’s just hitting me hard right now. Can we… Can we talk later ?”

Liam nodded, and Theo left to get his bottle of water. He tried to understand, but he couldn’t comprehend why Theo was closing up again. Especially to him.   
  


* * *

“So, what are you doing tomorrow night ?” Liam asked Theo, as they were leaving the gym. Behind them, Malia was on the phone, ordering a pizza. 

“I think we are training ?” Theo answered, frowning, and Liam tried not to think about all the times Theo had just pushed him aside. “Yeah, no. They are cleaning the gym, so no training tomorrow evening.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. So I was thinking… Dinner and a movie ?”

“Or we could go for a run?” Theo offered, checking his phone. Liam had to restrain himself from forcing him to look into his eyes.

“That’s what you call a date ?”

Theo stopped in his tracks, suddenly still, and Liam almost tripped himself. 

“A date ?” Theo said, quietly. His eyes were veiled again, and he was looking at Liam, a mix of emotions on his face.

“Yeah, a date. You know, food, movie, the whole thing.”

“You want us to… Date ?” Theo winced, and Liam felt his heart beating way too fast. “Ugh, I thought we already did ?”

Theo didn’t say anything. Instead, he just turned, and started walking away from Liam. 

“Theo !” He said, jogging to be at his level. “What’s happening ? Talk to me ?”

“I don’t… I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to date.”

“What ? Why ? I thought you…”

“I like you a lot Liam.” Theo sighed, like the words were hard to say. “I like you way more than I expected, and way more than I should. I… I just think I have a tendency to run into things and make a mess out of it.”

“So… You don’t want to go on a date with me because…”

“Because I don’t want this”, he gestured between the both of them “To take over my life.”

Liam felt like he had been slapped. “I just asked you out for a date. Jeez. I’m not asking you to marry me. Also, you were not that reluctant when you woke up in my bed.”

“Yeah, well, there is a big difference between fooling around and…”

“Fooling around ?” Liam said, in a gasp. He could feel all the emotions that had led him there starting to tumble. He couldn’t believe Theo’s reaction. “Fooling around ? That’s what you call… You talked to me about what happened to you, I told you things I would never tell anyone else, and you call it fooling around ?”

Theo didn’t look at him. “I just… I need time to think, okay ?”

“Think about what Theo ?”

“Just… Think.”

He didn’t seem open to talk about it, and Liam felt the hate he had discovered for him in their earlier days come back in his chest. He felt silly, and hurt. He huffed. 

“Fine. Take your time to  _ think. _ ”

And he left Theo in front of the gym, because there was no way he was going to let him see how bad Liam felt.

* * *

“Guys, gather around. So today’s training will be shorter, because they are finally cleaning the gym. Less time means we can get more physical, okay ? Let’s work on the tumbling.”

Liam walked to the end of the mat, keeping his eyes on the floor. He didn’t want to look at Theo by accident, not as long as he still felt mad at him for the day before. And as Theo hadn’t reached out to him, things were probably not going to get better soon.

“What’s up, lover boy ?” Allison asked him, as they waited for their turn in line. He looked at her, but didn’t answer. “How, that bad, hum ?”

“I need to focus.” He said, because he didn’t feel like having a conversation. He didn’t miss how her face flinched, but she whispered “Sure”, and let him go.

Training usually made everything better, but it was clearly not working this day, because everything in the gym, and every exercise reminded him of how he had done them with Theo. 

He sighed, and ran on the mat, doing a full line of tumbling that he had practiced with the other cheerleader. It was quite impressive how much progress he had made, and he felt at ease with some pretty hard skills. But he didn’t even feel satisfied at the end, even though Peter was eyeing him appreciatively. He just left the mat, and walked to the side.

He was startled by the loud impact of a body against the mat, and by the few shouts that came with it. He turned to look at the scene, and his bottle fell on the floor. 

Theo was on the middle of the mat, holding his ankle with both of his hands and swearing, as Scott hurried to get to him. Liam froze. The scene could not be real. Theo never made mistakes. Sure, he had seen him fall quite a lot when they practiced alone, but he never threw a stunt he wasn’t sure of in front of Peter. It just didn’t make sense.

“What the fuck…” He heard himself say, and he felt a hand on his forearm. Lydia was looking at him, worried. “You okay ?”

He wanted to say that he was, because there was no reason for him to feel bad about Theo falling, but he just couldn’t muster the courage to put on a face.

“What did he do ?”

“I think it was supposed to be a full full to a whip full.”

“He can do that one in his sleep.”

She didn’t say anything to that, but she looked at him. “Want to go see if he is okay ?”

Liam nodded, not even thinking about what others would think about it. She took his hand, and together, they walked to where Scott was hovering over Theo’s foot. The cheerleader was laying down, a hand on his forehead, and his face grimacing.

“I’m gonna need ice.” Scott said, and Peter ordered for someone to go find some. “Don’t try to move it, Theo. Did it crack ?”

“I don’t fucking now. It hurts, okay ?”

Theo’s voice was strained, like he was about to start crying, and Liam felt all anger leave his body. He fell on his knees next to Theo’s face.

“Hey.”

Theo let a dry sob escape his lips, before closing his eyes. When he opened them again, he looked so bad that Liam just wanted to hug him. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his pupils were rendered small by the pain. But as Scott was still checking on him, he knew it wouldn’t be such a good idea.

“It hurts.” Theo said, and Liam nodded. “Yeah. I know. Hang in there.”

“I don’t think it’s broken”, Scott said, as Peter arrived with the ice. But I want him to get checked at the hospital. It could be a ligament.”

Liam saw all color leave Theo’s face, and he reached for his hand, squeezing it tight.

“Hey there. Stay with me. You’re just getting checked. It’s probably a bad contusion. Don’t start making plans and thinking about the worst.”

“You know me so well.” The whispered, his voice hoarse.

And Liam wished he knew what to answer, but Theo's eyes were so full of worry, and pain, that he couldn't convince himself to say anything else than the obvious. "It's going to be okay." Liam whispered, one of his hand hovering on top of Theo's fingers. "Everything is gonna be fine."

But both him, and Theo, knew perfectly well he was not sure of that.


End file.
